The Three Musketeers and the Meddling Witch
by HoneyBeeez
Summary: The Sequel to Leave It To Lauren! Hogwarts AU. When Hiccup, Jack and Xavier meet during first-year, they all get Sorted into Gryffindor and become the best of friends. Hiccup and Jack develop feeling for each other over time, and simply refuse to come to terms with it... until Hiccup meets a certain someone that changes everything. HiccupxJack, OCxOC (I don't know genres)
1. Prologue

**HELLO! So, welcome to the sequel to LITL, but you don't have to read that unless you want to! Some things unfold a bit different here, and if you have any questions, just PM me! **

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, OR RISE OF THE GUARDIANS. **_

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Prologue: The Meeting

To say Jackson Overland Frost was nervous was an extreme understatement. He and his mother flitted across the house, making sure all the necessary items were tucked away neatly in his trunk and ready to leave for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Yes, the day had come.

His little sister, Emma, stood at the edge of her crib, gripping the bars excitedly as she bounced lightly on the thin mattress that was under her feet. The excitement was in the air and everyone could feel it.

"You think that's everything?" Jack asked, looking at his mom as he hauled Emma out of her crib and set her on his hip. His mother laughed lightly.

"I think so," She said. "If you need anything, just send me an owl and I'll get it for you." His mother informed him with a kiss on the forehead, taking Emma from his arms. He crinkled his nose a little at her kiss, and pouted slightly at the loss of his sister, but other than that, he laughed.

"Right mom," he said with a smile. There was no use in arguing with her, and he wanted his departure to be a happy one.

"So, get your trunk and let's go! We're going to be late!" His mother said, sending him running into his room and lugging his trunk out into the front room. He tugged it to his side as he stood next to his mother. Emma giggled, and reached over to pet Jack's snow white hair. He laughed, and attempted to bat her off as his mother held her wand in her hand…

And turned.

With the feeling of being shoved into a pipe that was too small and having the oxygen forced out of your lungs, Jack, his mother, and Emma Apparated*****, straight to Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station. Jack's feet hit the floor, and he took a gasp of the warm air that was now around him. People were everywhere, and the noise was astoundingly loud. He looked to his mother, who set Emma onto her own two feet. Then she hugged her son.

"You're going to be fine, alright, Jack?" She said, her voice conveying a level of sincerity that Jack knew wasn't fake. "You're going to make all new friends, and you're going to be great in your classes…"

"I'm going to miss you," Jack said, hugging his mother tightly. "And Emma!" He said, breaking away to gather up Emma in his arms, who was too overwhelmed to wander away. She laughed loudly as he kissed her cheeks incessantly. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Jack!" Emma said, barely getting the word out through her laughs. He chuckled, setting her down on her feet.

"You have your wand?" His mother asked.

"Yes, mom." He mused.

"And your schoolbooks?" She asked.

"I'm pretty sure we went over this before we left." Jack pointed out with a cheeky smile on his face. His mother reached out and pinched his cheeks, a smile on her face.

"I don't need the sass, mister." She said, kissing his forehead lightly. "Go on, it's going to leave without you."

Jack whipped around at the sound of a train whistle, and that's when he noticed the huge scarlet Hogwarts Express. He let out a gasp, and looked back at his mom. She already had Emma on her hip, and she gestured to the train. He smiled.

"Bye mom!" He said. "I love you!" With that, he gathered up his trunk and hauled it to the train, maneuvering the cumbersome thing up the stairs and into the narrow hallway. He knew he wouldn't be able to get to a window to wave good-bye to his mom and sister, judging by the crowd that gathered near the windows, but he was sure they would understand. The train lurched considerably, and they were off, moving at speeds that were impossible for any Muggle train.

Getting through the crowd was difficult at best, but he managed. It was only until someone bumped into him that he stumbled into a compartment by accident, one that was practically full, mind you. The students inside seemed a million years older than Jack himself and they looked at him confusedly.

"Hi, I'm Jack," the white-haired first-year greeted. "Mind if I sit with you lot?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"Sure," Someone answered, scooting over on the bench and making room for him.

"So, first-year, right?" Another asked.

"Yup," Jack responded.

"Know any spells?"

"Um…"

"Come on, I'll teach you one." The person closest to the window offered, standing up and pulling their wand out of their pockets. Jack stood up slower, pulling his wand out of his cloak with some difficulty (his mother made sure he was already changed into his robes before they set off).

"Get ready," someone whispered, but Jack ignored them. The door behind him slid open, but his eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the person who was teaching him.

"Okay, this one's really simple, and it'll help you in a fight," the guy said. Jack nodded. "Repeat after me: Stupefy!"******

"Stupefy!" Jack echoed.

"Good, now for the wand movements… it's going to be rigid like this." Suddenly, the guy jerked his hand out, pointing the tip of his wand directly at Jack's chest. Jack mimicked the movements.

"Ooh, looks like Sandy'll have a good one this year," someone said. Jack smiled proudly.

"Now, do it." The guy said with a smile. Jack took a deep breath.

"Stupefy!" He said, his wand jerking out in front of him, a blast of white light nearly blinding him. But that didn't prevent him from seeing the bolt of light travel towards the guy who was teaching him… and it didn't prevent him from seeing the guy move his wand in an arc-like motion. Suddenly, the blast was rebounding onto him, hitting him full in the chest.

Jack felt himself tumbled backwards, his cloak getting wrapped around him. Curiously enough, he could move. He stopped tumbling, and Jack couldn't think properly. The strange effects wore off, and he popped up into a sitting position, smiling.

"Hey, look guys! Someone was in there!" The people in the other compartment laughed loudly. Jack looked around to see an auburn haired kid with a plethora of freckles, and forest green eyes. His hand was outstretched, as if he was going to touch him, but he quickly put his hand back in his lap. His nervousness was endearing, and Jack gave him a smile.

"Good one, guys!" Jack said, getting up and closing the door, sealing himself and the auburn-haired boy into the compartment. "Oh, um, do you mind? I don't really want to be with them."

"Oh, n-no, it's fine." He said. "P-please, by all means." The kid gestured to the seat in front of him. Jack sat down, and then immediately leaned forward, holding his hand out to the kid.

"I'm Jack." He said. The kid reached out and shook his hand, which was also sprinkled with its fair share of freckles.

"Hiccup," he greeted.

"Whoa, really?" Jack asked, sitting back and looking at him. Hiccup, looked at his feet uncertainly and then back up at Jack, nodding slightly. "That's a really cool name!" Jack exclaimed, laughing a bit.

"O-oh, thanks… I mean…" Hiccup stuttered. "Usually people just laugh at me."

"No, seriously, that's cool. And that's coming from the guy named Jack Frost." Jack informed him, laughing at his own expense. Hiccup laughed a little, and Jack decided that he really like the sound.

"That's really your name?" Hiccup asked. "You're named after a winter sprite?" Jack laughed again.

"Well, yeah," he said, "winter's like the best season ever."

"I would disagree," Hiccup said. "I would say summer's the best."

"Oh, that's a total lie," Jack said. "You can't have snowball fights in the summer!" Hiccup laughed, and shook his head at him.

"Well, you can't sit outside and tell stories by the fire in winter!" Hiccup protested. "Your arms will fall off!"

"Touché." Jack said, sitting back in his seat. The door slid open gently, and a guy about Jack's age peeked through the door. His hair was blonde and slightly spiky, his brown eyes reflecting apprehension in every aspect. "Hey!" Jack said cheerily, waving at him.

"Uh, hi." The boy greeted. "Mind if I sit here?" He came in and shut the door. Hiccup nodded, and Jack laughed and scooted over so the newcomer could sit.

"Not at all," Jack said, holding his hand out. "Jack."

"Hiccup," He said, mimicking Jack and shaking hands with the new kid.

"Um, I'm Xavier," the kid said, his hair going a practically platinum-blond color. Jack and Hiccup's eyes grew wide, and Xavier covered his face with his hands. "Dang it…" he mumbled.

"That was so awesome!" Jack exclaimed.

"Oh, man, that was cool!" Hiccup said. Xavier looked at them as if they were crazy.

"Are you guys serious?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah!" Jack and Hiccup yelled at the same time. They looked at each other, and something passed in between them. It was as if time itself stopped, and the earth stopped dead in its orbit. It was just them. And frankly, they were okay with that. Jack suddenly felt as if he could stare at Hiccup's face all day and never get tired of the color of his eyes, or how his freckles fanned over his face generously, or how his semi-thin lips spread out into a crooked yet adorable smile…

All three of them instantly knew that these next couple years were going to be very interesting ones.

* * *

***Sort of like teleportation. **

****Stunning Spell.**

**So, yes, Lauren and Xavier will still be in this version of the story! (and I tried writing in Jack's perspective. I hope it was okay!) Thank you all for reading! Leave a review, please!**

**-HB**


	2. Chapter 1: Leaving

**So, here's chapter one! I hope you guys enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, HTTYD or ROTG. **

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Chapter One: Leaving

King's Cross Station was crowded, and a teen with long auburn hair and green eyes looked dwarfed against the crowd and next to his father. His father looked down at his son, who was shaking with anticipation. He smiled. People looked at the two a little oddly, thinking about how a father so large could have a son so… small. But they brushed it off their shoulders, not caring and focusing on their own problems. A black cat trailed after the boy, with highlighter green eyes and a piece of its tail cut away.

The father and son stopped in between the platforms nine and ten.

"Are you goin' ta be okay, Heccup?" The father asked in a thick accent.

"Yes, dad, I'll be fine." The son answered, giving his father a quick hug. "I'll write soon."

"Yes. Right. Well, good luck. Have fun," His father was saying a bit awkwardly, "and work hard. I'll soon you later… probably." He joked.

"And I'll be here…" Hiccup said, smiling lightly. "Maybe." They chuckled. "C'mon, Toothless," Hiccup called to the cat, and the two walked into the brick wall that separated the two platforms. Surprisingly, they passed through the wall as if nothing was there at all.

Platform 9 ¾ was just as crowded as the Muggle platforms. Children were saying rushed good-byes to their parents and families, owls hooted and cats meowed loudly, and the scarlet Hogwarts Express waited for them all. Hiccup sighed, feeling extremely happy to be going back to Hogwarts, and started walking towards the train.

"Hey Freckles!" Someone yelled through the crowd. Hiccup smiled dorkily, unable to help it; he knew who was calling him.

"Frosty!" He yelled, turning around sharply to see one of his two best friends rushing towards him. He had white hair and blue eyes, earning him the nickname 'Frosty.' His handsome smile pulled at his lips as approached.

"How was your summer?" Jack asked, looking down at Hiccup, his heart beating loudly in his ears.

"It was alright. Great, actually. I made a new friend." Hiccup said. Jack snorted.

"You making friends? That's a first." Jack joked, but then he looked down and spotted Toothless. "A cat! Are you serious?"

"Well, he isn't really…" Hiccup tried to explain, but Jack had already scooped the black cat up into his arms. "He doesn't really like people all that much…" As if on command, the cat bit Jack's hand lightly, and he fell to the floor as Jack dropped him in surprise.

"Ow." Jack said lamely. Hiccup laughed and rolled his eyes at him.

"How was your summer?" Hiccup asked.

"As good as it would ever be." Jack said, apparently over his minor injury. "It good to be going back, you know?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Hey guys!" Someone else called. The two looked, and saw a boy with spiked blonde hair and brown eyes rushing towards them.

"Hey X!" Jack called, waving frantically.

"Hey Xavier!" Hiccup greeted. Xavier saw Toothless, and swooped down and petted the cat.

"Who's this?" He cooed, petting the cat with abandon.

"That's Toothless." Hiccup said with a laugh.

"Toothless my ass!" Jack yelled. "He bit me! And I thought you said he didn't like people!" Hiccup just shrugged, and Xavier laughed.

"Train's about to leave." Xavier informed with a smile. They all groaned a bit, but hauled their trunks into the train and found an empty compartment for themselves. They sat down, and immediately started joking around and telling stories that had happened over the time that they were gone. Toothless took a liking to Xavier, and sat beside him. Hiccup almost felt betrayed… key word: almost.

"So did you adopt this guy or what?" Xavier asked, scratching Toothless down his back. Hiccup laughed.

"No, I found him. In the forest." Hiccup answered.

"You found a cat in the forest?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Well, he's not _really_ a cat." Hiccup argued. Xavier and Jack stared at him, their expressions blank and accusing, clearly saying that Hiccup was crazy. "No, I'm serious!" Hiccup argued. "He's a dragon."

"I don't believe you." Xavier said with a smile. Jack laughed.

"I'll prove it to you both." Hiccup said defiantly. "Tonight. I'll show you."

Jack and Xavier just laughed it off, thinking that Hiccup was messing with them, because as much of a dork Hiccup was, he was actually really good at pranking people. Toothless curled up to Hiccup and promptly fell asleep. The three continued to goof around and laugh for the majority of the train ride, until they had to change into their uniforms. Hiccup pulled out his uniform from his trunk.

"Watch Toothless for a second. I'm going to change." Hiccup said.

"'Kay," Xavier mumbled. Jack mock-saluted him. Hiccup walked out of the compartment. Jack slumped in his seat, his heart beating wildly and a love-struck smile playing on his lips for about three seconds before he pulled himself together. He was being irrational.

"Do you really think that he's a dragon?" Jack asked. Xavier gave him a look.

"Do you?" He shot. Jack laughed, and looked away. "Exactly."

* * *

"Excuse me… whoops, sorry… _argh_, people." Hiccup muttered under his breath as he weaved through the crowds, trying to get to the bathrooms so he could change. Really, if he was an ounce as smart as people told him he was, he would have changed an hour ago. But, nope. Instead, he found himself waiting in front of a bathroom door, clutching his clothes to his chest tightly.

The door swung open suddenly, revealing a girl dressed in the Hogwarts uniform, a Hufflepuff tie loose around her neck. She had long dirty-blonde hair and kind hazel eyes. She was roughly about the same height as Hiccup, maybe a bit shorter. She shot him a little smile as she moved out of the way.

"Sorry," She muttered.

"No problem." Hiccup said, shutting the door after him and changing.

* * *

"Welcome, everyone, to Hogwarts! And to all returning students: Welcome Back!" North, the Headmaster of Hogwarts said, earning a smattering amount of applause. "I will not bore you all about rules, so… CHRISTMAS TREES!" He yelled suddenly, and food bloomed onto the tables.

Hiccup, Jack and Xavier ate happily, laughing and jeering as they did so, disregarding table manners because of the excitement of being back at Hogwarts. Soon, almost too soon actually, everyone was ushered up to their common rooms. The three passed through the Portrait and immediately went up the stairs and into their rooms.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled, spotting the cat that was sitting on top of his bed.

"Wait, what were you going to show us?" Jack asked with a sarcastic smirk. Hiccup laughed.

"Oh, right!" He said, pulling his wand out of his robe pocket. He mumbled something quickly, and with a quick twitch of his wrist, he shot a spell at Toothless, who was bounding towards him. In an instant, the small cat grew into a dragon, a Night Fury at that. Xavier yelled and stumbled backwards in shock, while Jack gasped slightly, but walked towards the dragon cautiously.

"You weren't joking…" Jack said seriously, but then his face broke out into a huge smile as he ran towards Toothless and put his hand on the dragon's snout cautiously. Toothless tolerated it. "This is so awesome!"

"You can seriously get in trouble for this!" Xavier said, looking at Hiccup incredulously.

"You can't tell anyone!" Hiccup said. "He wouldn't survive out there without me." He gestured to Toothless' tail, which only half of it was there. Xavier's expression softened.

"And when do you care about breaking rules and getting in trouble, X?" Jack yelled. Xavier sneered at him.

"Hiccup could be in really big trouble with the Ministry for this, you know?" He said. "But… I won't say anything." Hiccup's smile was unending (Jack watched him smile from the corner of his eye, and his heart nearly melted, and then there was a pang of jealousy because that smile was directed at Xavier and not him).

After that, Toothless was changed back into a cat, and they all settled down for sleep. Xavier was out like a light before his head hit his pillow (which was actually pretty funny). Hiccup sighed contentedly, happy to be back at Hogwarts and with his friends again (let alone, back with his crush, but there was no way in hell that anyone would ever find out about that…), and soon he was snoring lightly. Jack, on the other hand, stayed up a bit later than the others. The excitement of the day was still running in his veins, and he was just happy to be back at Hogwarts.

* * *

**Yay! Okay, so obviously, the relationships between Stoick and Hiccup and Jack, Xavier and Hiccup has changed because of the circumstances. But other than that, nothing's really changed. **

**GUYS! Um... how's my characterization? Seriously, I feel like I'm portraying Jack and Hiccup a little bit... inaccurately (?) from how they're portrayed in their movies. So, if you could tell me what you think of this in a review, I'd really be grateful!**

**Thanks for reading! I love you all!**

**-HB**


	3. Chapter 2: First Day Back

**Hey guys! Hope summer's treating you well! This chapter's sorta repetitive if you've read "Leave It To Lauren" and I apologize.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING, ONLY A LAPTOP AND TONS OF FREE TIME. I'm a loser like that ;D**

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Chapter Two: First Day Back

**Hiccup's POV**

The next morning was utterly depressing, to say the least. After months of waking up close to noon, being awoken by Toothless at promptly 6 o'clock was hell. Jack and Xavier simply refused to get up, so I got dressed quickly and grabbed my backpack. I walked out of the common room, Toothless trailing behind me.

Too tired to really do anything else, I put a plate of fish on the floor for Toothless and grabbed an industrial-sized muffin from one of the trays. I sat down and started picking at it. Mm… blueberry…

"Um…" Someone said. I looked up. "You're Hiccup… right?" A girl asked. I immediately remembered her from the train, the one that changed before me (it terrible way to remember someone, really, but it was the only way I could identify her at the moment).

"Yeah." I said, and the word tittered on the edge of being a question. The girl looked relieved, her hazel eyes looking a bit green and her hands fumbled with the papers in her hands (which I didn't notice until now). She plucked one out of the stack and handed it to me.

"It's your schedule. For classes." She said, brushing her hair over her shoulders. I took a quick glance at it, then looked up at the girl.

"Thanks." I said, smiling. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Oh, um… I'm Lauren." She said, sitting down gingerly next to me and picking up a muffin from the tray that was in front of me. I looked at her a little oddly, but it wasn't awkward, not necessarily. "You hang out with Jack and Xavier, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah. I sort of met up with them first year and… well, they're my best friends, you know?" I said, almost at a loss for words. Lauren laughed a little.

"Yeah, I know how that's like," She said. "You have an accent, you know that?" I blinked.

"I live in the U.S, but before I moved there, I lived in Norway." I explained. "That might be the reason why…"

"You are so freaking lucky!" Lauren exclaimed. "Sorry, but I've always wanted to go to the States. They seem really cool."

"Nah, they're nothing special." I argued.

"Still." Lauren insisted. "I think it's really neat that you live in America, but still come to Hogwarts, you know? Don't they have their own Wizardry school?"

"Nope." I said, popping the 'p' sound a bit more than necessary. "But I was already attending Hogwarts before my dad made me move so… it just means flying in an airplane every time I want to go home, that's all."

"That sounds really interesting…" Lauren said, before her breath caught. She blushed dramatically and looked practically anywhere else other than at me.

Jack smacked the table loudly, and I laughed at him. Xavier was close by, still looking a bit groggy, but at least he was up on his feet.

"Good morning, Freckles!" Jack chirped and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Morning," Xavier mumbled.

"Hey," I greeted. "Oh, guys, this is Lauren. Lauren, this is Jack and Xavier." That was by far the worst introduction ever, but eh, whatever. Lauren blushed, and pushed her hair out of her face again.

"Hi…" She said. "Oh! That reminds me!" Lauren pulled out two pieces of paper from the stack in her hands and handed them to Jack and Xavier. "It's… your schedules. Um… I have to go, but…" Lauren said, putting her hand on my shoulder lightly. "Meet me in the Library after class? I need help with Charms." I smiled at her.

"Yeah, of course," I agreed.

"Great! Well, see you later!" She said, as her hand slipped off my shoulder and she walked away.

"What was that girl's name? Lauren?" Xavier asked, fully-awake now. I laughed to myself.

"Yeah."

"Nice catch, dude," Xavier said, smiling at me. "She's a cutie." He winked. I blushed, and Jack scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"There's no 'catch,' X." I said. "I'm helping her with Charms, that's all."

"Mmm hmm, yeah sure." Jack said, laughing. "She totally liked you." I had to roll my eyes at the two of them, because they were acting like idiots.

"Knock it off," I reprimanded gently. "And wait! Aren't you the one that's had fifty million girlfriends? Knowing you, you should have broken _at least_ two hearts by now."

That's when a sharp pain in my chest hit me full force. Just thinking about that, let alone having those words come out of my mouth, was painful. I've been fighting these feelings down during the past four years. It just seems to kill me every time I see Jack with another girl, or see his exes create this type of fangirl-status group that fawn over him every time he walks through the corridors.

Jack just rolled his eyes at me, and stuck out his tongue like a child, but there was something in his eyes that unnerved me. He had a smile on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes; either he was still half-asleep, or he was trying to hide the fact that he was incredibly angry.

"I'm not that bad," Jack whined. Toothless meowed loudly, and the bell rang.

"Well, time for class," I muttered unnecessarily. We all filed out and went to our first class: Transfiguration.

* * *

Classes were an ultimate bore, and Pitch was an ass as always, but nothing would have changed that in a million years. Bunnymund was laid-back, as far as Hogwarts teachers go on the first day of term. We all left his class laughing. Over all, it wasn't a bad day.

"Welp, I'll see you later, guys," I said, clapping both of them on the shoulder and walking in between them to head towards the library.

"Oh, yeah!" Xavier said, smacking his forehead. "Have fun on your date!" He called. I turned around and glared at him. Jack was looking at his feet, a scowl etched onto his face.

"It's not a date, X," I said. "I don't know how many times I need to tell you that…" I didn't think it was worth fighting with him, so I just made my way to the library.

I looked around all the isles for a while actually, looking for Lauren. I finally found her in the fiction section, and I took a seat next to her.

"Hey Hiccup," She greeted, snapping the book she was reading closed and placing it onto the table. _Tales of Beedle the_ _Bard_*****… hmm…

"Hey Lauren," I said. I smiled a bit, and sighed. "So you need help with Charms, right?" I asked. Lauren just shook her head, her shoulders shaking from laughing.

"No, I was just kidding," She said. "I'm top of my class this year. I just really wanted an excuse to hang out with you." Lauren didn't blush when she said that, so I relaxed a bit.

"You don't need an _excuse_ to hang out with me…" I said, looking at her oddly.

"Yeah, I do!" She said. "Look at you! You're a big, bad Gryffindor! You're part of the freaking Three Musketeers, for crying out loud! You're totally popular! And I'm just me…"

"Don't say that about yourself, because that's not true." I reprimanded, but then I came up short. "Wait… popular? Nuh-uh. And… what in the name of Merlin's pants in the Three Musketeers?" Lauren stifled her laugh with her right hand.

"Oh, that's what everyone calls you, Jack and, um, Xavier. You guys are practically always together so…" Lauren shrugged. "The Three Musketeers." I laughed at her.

Then… we just started talking about everything. It was really weird, because talking with Lauren, a perfect stranger before this morning, felt like talking to Jack or Xavier, friends that I've had since forever. Where has she been all these years? She told me about her family in England, and I told her about my dad, and how he works all the time… and how my mom died. I couldn't help it; I haven't talked about my mother's death to anyone else besides Jack and Xavier since it happened the summer of first year. Lauren didn't even say that she was sorry my mom died, she just hugged me quickly and said that she would be proud of me.

"So, how do you like that book?" I asked, pointing at _Beedle the Bard_. She started, then pushed her hair over her shoulder, her cheeks turning red.

"Oh, well… It's definitely interesting." Lauren said. "I sort of, um, memorize wizarding stories so when I go home… I can tell them to my little brothers so… yeah. It's really stupid." I laughed lightheartedly.

"That's not stupid, that's sweet." I corrected.

"Glad you think so," She replied, smiling a little before checking a clock on the wall. "Dang." She sighed. "I've… I've got to go."

"Alright," I said. "Me too."

We left the library together, going our separate ways after a hug. I laughed a little, thinking about everything. Lauren really was a nice person, and I didn't think that I could talk to a stranger like that. _Well, now she's not a stranger anymore_. I shouldered my backpack and walked to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

**Jack's POV**

I was sitting on one of the armchairs in the common room, looking up at the ceiling moodily. Xavier scoffed at me from his armchair, snapped his textbook shut, and gave me a look.

"Dude, what's your problem?" He asked, laughing a bit, which only made me even more infuriated.

"Nothing. Mind your own business." I snapped, turning away from and but still looking at the ceiling. Xavier was shocked, but he wasn't fazed. He knew me all too well to know that when I was in a funk, it was better not to leave me alone.

"Stop being melodramatic and tell me already. You've been off since breakfast." He said, his voice flat and honest. Had I been acting weird today? _Oh, shit, did Hiccup pick up on it too?_

"I might be a bit jealous…" I mumbled, balling my hands in my hoodie pocket and gritting my teeth.

"Of who?" Xavier asked. "Who the hell would you be jealous of?"

"Lauren…" I said, the word barely escaping my lips. I looked over at Xavier, and his mouth was open, his brown eyes wide. He blinked rapidly, then slowly closed his mouth. Then he nodded once.

"Lauren." He stated. "You're jealous… of Lauren." I looked away, knowing how terrible it sounded. "Why?! All because she's hanging out with Hiccup?"

"Yeah, 'all because she's hanging out with Hiccup!'" I yelled, sitting up fully and looking him in the eye.

"You get to see him every day." Xavier said. "Why would you be jealous if he's hanging out with someone else for once?" I clicked my tongue at him, then ran my hands through my hair.

"Just… forget it. It's stupid." I mumbled. "Pretend I didn't say anything, okay? We never had this conversation." I got up and started walking up the stairs.

"Whatever you say, dude," Xavier said, throwing his hands in the air, only to have them smack loudly against his knees. He sat back in his chair and cracked open his book again with a scowl.

I slipped into our room, only to be met by Toothless at the door.

"Watch it, kitty," I said, walking around him. I heard his footsteps as he followed me closely. I flopped onto my bed, resigned, and the black cat jumped onto my chest. I tried pushing him off, but he just jumped back onto me again. "Come on, Toothless, get off…" I whined.

"**I know you like Hiccup,**" a voice said, low and growling and menacing.

"Ack!" I yelled, flailing. I fell off my bed with a heavy _thump!_ and scooted backwards until my back was against the wall. Toothless just walked towards me and sat down. "Was… Was that you?" I asked, pointing at the cat-dragon-thingy. There was a joy in his acid-green eyes as he watched me like he would watch prey.

"**Who else would it be, Frost?**" Toothless asked.

"You can talk? How are you doing this?" I asked, thoroughly freaked out right about now. Toothless rolled his green orbs at me and shot me a look.

"**I don't think that matters all that much,**" Toothless stated, taking a step towards me. "**What I want to know is: what do you want with Hiccup?**" My blood froze, and time itself seemed to stop. I was being interrogated by a dragon. What made it even worse was that the dragon belonged to Hiccup.

"I-I… I really don't know what you're talking about…" I said, unsurely, and I laughed uncomfortably.

"**I see the way you look at him when you think no one is watching. You think that I'll let this slip? Tell me what you want with him or I swear I'll rip you to pieces.**" Toothless snarled, and I noticed that his teeth were missing. I laughed inwardly.

"I don't think that you could do all that much damage to me…" I said, just when teeth sprung out from his gums and he pounced on me, landing on my knees and perching himself there. I felt his claws dig into my skin through my pants.

"**Talk, Frost.**" Toothless said.

"What do I want with him?" I asked incredulously. "He's my friend. It's not like I'm gonna walk up to him and rape him or something!"

"**But you do like him as more than just a friend, am I right?**" Toothless asked, his expression softening a little.

"You're not wrong, but can you blame me?" I asked, looking up at the cat.

"**I guess not,**" He said, hopping off my knees and giving me some space. "**I'm alright with you as long as Hiccup do not get hurt. Otherwise, you'll be the one that's hurting. Do I make myself clear?**"

"Crystal." I said.

"**Good.**" Toothless growled, then he just walked away from me and hopped on top of Hiccup's bed, just in time for the door to slam open.

"Oh my gods…" Hiccup sighed, running a hand through his hair, clearly not noticing that I was there. "Hey Toothless…" He said, looking at the cat who was nonchalantly curled up on his bed. His eyes swept the room and spotted me. "Jack, what the heck are you doing?" He asked, tilting his head and looking at me curiously. My stomach churned and twisted in knots without my permission.

"You're dragon's the devil," I mumbled, getting to my feet shakily. He laughed slightly, then shot a glare at Toothless.

"Bud… what'd you do?" He asked, wagging his finger at the cat. Toothless just looked innocently at him, then turned his attention to me.

"**Why don't you just tell him?**" Toothless asked me, and I could see the smile stretched across his feline face. I turned red, and nearly tackled the cat.

"CAN YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT UP ALREADY?" I yelled at him, my hands bunched into fists unconsciously. Hiccup winced, and then he was at my side in an instant, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Dude, calm down…" He murmured lowly, the fear and worry evident in his tone.

"Do you hear him?!" I asked, somewhat incredulously and scared. Hiccup just bit his lip and shook his head.

"Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing or…" He said, pressing the back of his hand on my forehead. I brushed him off, unintentionally letting out a relieved sigh that I didn't know I was holding in.

"No. I'm fine." I said, brushing it off. I pulled myself together, standing a bit straighter and pulling on a smile. "How was Lauren?" The question tasted vile in my mouth.

"Good, I guess." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Want to go grab dinner? Xavier already left…"

"Uh, yeah, sure." I said, stowing my hands in my pockets as we walked out of the room, Toothless trailing behind us. We were halfway there, when Hiccup uttered the first word.

"It… it wasn't a date, by the way," He said, looking at his feet. I blinked at him, and he raised his eyes and looked at me for a bit. "Me and Lauren. It wasn't a date."

"I know," I said, my heart thumping so loud that I knew he could hear it. "You've told us a million times."

"Yeah, but both of you never seem to listen to me." Hiccup said with a smile, his crooked teeth poking out from his thin lips. I laughed, and looked down.

"Okay, fine. This one time, I'll listen to you." I said, holding up my index finger for emphasis. When he rolled his eyes at me, I poked his cheek. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, Mr. Viking!" I said loudly. He laughed and batted me off with both hands.

"Knock it off, Ice Queen!" He yelled.

"Ice Queen?!" I shouted, shocked. "I'll have you know-!"

"Wow, you guys really are dorks," someone laughed. Lauren was standing at the entrance of the Great Hall, her face on the verge of a laughter fit, a glint in her hazel eyes suggested… something. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Thanks," I said, pulling on a fake smile. "I pride myself in that remark." Hiccup shoved my shoulder.

Hiccup, Lauren, Xavier, Toothless and I ate dinner together, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be (mostly because Lauren didn't sit next to Hiccup and she was fawning over Toothless with Xavier for the majority of the time). We stayed a while longer than everyone else, eating dessert slowly and talking insanely. My jealousy subsided, cursing that Lauren wasn't overly-preppy or a bitch so that I could say that I didn't like her for that reason.

After, Lauren bade us all good-night and walked down the hall in the opposite direction. Xavier just watched her go.

"Hey, Hiccup," he said, and we both looked at him. "You sure she's not your girlfriend?" Xavier asked. Hiccup laughed.

"I'm pretty positive that she's not my girlfriend." He assured.

"Good." Xavier said with a finality, and walked away, heading to our common room. "That gives me a chance." He said, probably hoping that we didn't hear him.

"Whoa, hold up there!" I said, laughing. Hiccup and I shared a look, both of us smiling widely as we jogged to catch up with Xavier. "You like her?" I asked, catching his shoulder. He shrugged me off, glaring.

"So what if I do?" He challenged.

"Xavier's got a crush~" Hiccup sang mockingly, poking his other shoulder annoyingly. Xavier batted him off and he rolled his eyes dramatically. The words hung in the air as we walked up the moving staircases and to the seventh floor.

Most people were already asleep, being mindful of the fact that there were classes tomorrow. We trudged upstairs and into our dorm. Xavier changed quickly and climbed into bed, mumbling something about have "the worst friends ever" and being taunted over "a stupid crush when…" well, I didn't hear the rest.

Hiccup said he was going to take a shower, gathering his things and walking into the bathroom. Oddly, Toothless followed him in. I shook my head and laughed, the blood pounding in my ears when I realized what exactly he was doing behind that door.

My smile quickly turned into a frown and I grabbed my pillow and smashed my face against it. I shouldn't be thinking that… He's my best friend after all. I shouldn't be thinking anything of the sort. But that fact didn't stop me from doing so during the past three years (when I realized that I was falling in love with the dork from day one). I tossed my pillow back onto my bed, and pulled on my pajamas: some baggy pants and my blue hoodie. I then sat on the windowsill and looked at the moon.

The bathroom door creaked open, and Hiccup came walking out. I blinked at him; his pants were tucked into his fur boots, and he was wearing odd-looking leather shoulder pads over his light green long-sleeved shirt.

"Toothless…" He whispered, looking back into the bathroom. Toothless, now a dragon, came lumbering silently out of the bathroom and nudged Hiccup's shoulder. "Shh!" Hiccup hissed at the dragon. "Calm down, we're going…" He whispered.

"Going where?" I asked, standing up from the windowsill and promptly scaring the shit out of Hiccup, who jumped about thirty feet in the air.

"Gods, Jack!" He said. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?!" Hiccup said, clutching at his chest for emphasis and he breathed harshly, trying to get his heartbeat back to normal. Toothless was being oddly silent, but I didn't question it.

"You still didn't answer my question." I stated. Hiccup looked at me, confused. "Where are you going?" I repeated, and his eyes widened.

"N-Nowhere, you know, just… bed. Sleep. You know, we have classes tomorrow and we all need a good night's sleep so…" Hiccup said, rambling off and moving his hands wildly. I just laughed at him, and put my hand over his mouth. With the moonlight filtering through the window, I could see him turning an interesting shade of red.

"Are you going to tell me the real answer?" I asked, not taking my hand away, not just yet. I felt him sigh, his breath on my hand, and he nodded. My hand dropped away from his face.

"We were going to go flying." Hiccup said in a hushed voice, looking nervously towards Xavier to see if he was asleep. I nearly laughed out loud, but I kept it to a chuckle.

"Are you sure, Hiccup?" I asked. "Because, if my memory's correct, you are a really terrible Quidditch player." Hiccup scowled playfully, flicking my forehead sharply.

"I am not a terrible Quidditch player, for your information." He informed. "And that's just rude." He shouldered past me, and wrenched the window open. As soon as the space was wide enough, Toothless bounded forward and leapt through the opening. He clung to the building tightly as Hiccup slipped through and sat on top of him. Then he shot me a glance from outside.

"Well, are you coming or what?" He asked. A smile spread across my face quickly, and I literally threw myself out of the window, swinging myself so that I landed onto Toothless and right behind Hiccup, close enough that I was still on the saddle, but far enough way that we weren't touching. I made the mistake of looking down, or at least what normal people would consider a mistake.

"Whoa, it's amazing up here…" I gasped, looking around everywhere.

"Er… you might want to hold on." Hiccup advised. I turned around to ask him why or to what, when Toothless shot forward suddenly. My hands instantly flung out and grabbed Hiccup's sides. Out of panic, I pulled myself close to him, my chest flush against his back, and my arms were around his torso and stomach. He laughed breathlessly and Toothless chuffed as he went into a dive towards the ground.

"Oh my gosh!" I yelled, utterly scared, but awed at the same time. Toothless pulled out of the dive two seconds before we crashed onto the ground, and he soared lowly onto the ground for a minute before pulling up again. He coasted at around a thousand feet up in the air, and I struggled to keep my eyes open. I could hear Hiccup laughing at me, a hint of unease in his voice. It made a panicked smile spread onto my face, and I quickly grew embarrassed because of how close we were and how tightly I was clutching him. I loosened my grip at the worst moment.

As soon as I untangled my fingers from his shirt and lifted my head from the crook of his neck, Toothless drove all three of us into a spiral, spinning us around at a dizzying rate. Hiccup laughed joyfully, sinking lower onto the saddle and bringing me along with him.

"AAAAAAH!" I yelled. "You guys are insane!"

"Thanks for the compliment!" Hiccup yelled back, laughing so hard he could barely choke back the sentence. Toothless uttered his own version of a laugh.

"**Want to go back yet?**" He asked me, shooting me a look over his shoulder. The world was still spinning quickly, but my resolve hardened.

"No." I said lowly, narrowing my eyes and pressing myself more firmly to Hiccup. He shifted uncomfortably under my grip, but I still held on. I placed my chin onto his shoulder. Toothless' face fell, his smile disappearing, and he stopped spinning, throwing out his wings and letting us coast once more.

I took in everything for the first time. The sky was a dark blue, almost black, the stars shining starkly against their dark backdrop. The moon was radiating the light that enabled me to see, and just looking at it made everything seem better, sweeter, more amazing. Hogwarts was miles below us, looking miniscule because of the distance, but it looked majestic. A tiny gasp left me, and Hiccup looked over his should to see my huge smile across my face. His green eyes sparkled with something before he turned red, and his lips quirked up in a tiny smile, his crooked front teeth showing.

"You can let go any time now, Frosty," He mumbled softly, and I laughed, letting go of his waist to put my hands on his shoulders to steady myself. I straightened out my back and looked out again.

"It's beautiful up here," I said, looking at him from the corner of my eye as I said it. He hummed in response and patted Toothless' head.

"It sure is," Hiccup said. "Toothless, take us back, bud." The dragon dove, but it wasn't as frantic as the one before. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of the wind against my face, my hair being pushed back away from my forehead… And when I opened my eyes, we were already at our window. Hiccup crawled through, then helped me in, and after, Toothless shimmied through the little space.

With a flick of his wand, Toothless became a cat once more, all his flight gear clattering to the ground. Xavier didn't even stir, and Hiccup and I had to stifle our laughter. I helped him gather everything up, and put it away in his trunk. He smiled at me after everything was cleaned up, then he turned away.

"Hey," I whispered. When he faced me again, I pulled him into a hug and let go before he could give me a response. "Uh, thanks… for taking me out for a ride with you." My cheeks burned, and I saw his face darken in the moonlight streaming in through the still-open window.

"No problem," He said, smiling a bit.

"Good night Freckles," I said, noting the hint of endearment in my voice and mentally smacking myself for it. Hiccup chuckled at me, and took off his shoulder pads.

"Night, Frosty," He said.

I nestled into my bed, thinking about everything and nothing, and then my world turned black as I fell asleep.

* * *

**Again, with the ending-the-chapters-when-they-fall-asleep. Ugh, I guess habits die hard. **

***Tales of Beedle the Bard- by JK Rowling. Collection of childhood stories in the Wizarding World. Seriously, if you haven't read it, go do it now, it's amazing.**

**Um... some things that need to be explained WILL be explained in later chapters. Just so you know. But if you have any questions, just add it with your review, or shoot me a PM. **

**You guys are the best! Thanks so much for reading! See ya soon!**

**-HB**


	4. Chapter 3: Crushes and Shenanigans

**Hey everyone! Here we go again! Alright so, again, this may seem a bit repetitive to all of you who have read LITL. But please, by all means, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING. NOTHING AT ALL.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Crushes and Shenanigans

*A week later*

"Hiccup?" Jack said, leaning over and putting his head on said person's shoulder. Hiccup groaned quietly, and pushed his head away.

"What?" He breathed, his eyes glued to Professor Mansnoozie, or Sandy, as everyone else called him. Since the professor was mute, the Charms class largely consisted on note-taking and studying the demonstrations carefully. Today, was obviously a demonstrations day as Sandy flicked his wrist, his mouth moving without words coming out, and things floating, soaring, and transforming.

"I'm bored~" Jack whined. Xavier turned around, because he was sitting in front of the two, and rolled his eyes. He smiled at them as Hiccup rolled his eyes at the white-haired boy.

"Watch the lesson then." Hiccup remarked. "I'm not going to be teaching all this to you after school again like last year." His lips curled up in a sarcastic smile; of course he would, if Jack asked, but he didn't say that out loud. Right now, he needed to make sure he understood the lesson himself, and he needed Jack to stop resting his head on his shoulder, because his hair tickled his neck and it was _seriously_ distracting him.

"Oh come on…" Jack said, sitting up and then slouching back into his seat moodily. He reached in his backpack and grabbed a piece of parchment, slapping it noisily onto his desk. No one noticed though, because they were all taking notes or were too engrossed with watching Sandy to care.

"_You hanging out with Lauren today?_" Jack scrawled out on the parchment before shoving it in Hiccup direction. His green eyes darted downwards, and then shot to Jack, giving him a look. Jack just raised his eyebrows in response.

"_Yeah, why?_" Hiccup wrote back, pushing it back towards him. Jack's eyebrows fell, and his whole demeanor changed.

"_Damn. I thought we could have gone flying or something_." Jack said, biting his lip in uncertainty before giving it back to Hiccup.

"_We already do that, dork_," The auburn-haired male wrote down, rolling his eyes as he gave it back to Jack. And it was true; every night, Hiccup and Jack would go flying with Toothless, soaring above everything and forgetting all their troubles for those few seconds. But now, it was Jack's turn to roll his eyes as he scrawled out his response.

"_On brooms, Frecks. I was thinking we could have a little Quidditch match_." Jack replied.

"_Oh, dang. Sorry. Sounds like fun. Some other time, for sure. I promise_." Hiccup wrote, pushing the paper in Jack's hand, which was underneath the table. His finger lingered at the palm of his hand, near the start of his fingers. For a second, Jack's heart quickened, thinking he was going to intertwine their fingers together. But Hiccup pulled away, instead busying himself with putting away all his supplies when the shrill bell sounded, signaling the end of the class period.

It was Jack, Xavier, and Hiccup's break period, so they went out and sat by the Whomping Willow. The violent tree swayed ominously above them, but they were too far away for it to strike them (years of practice taught them how close they could get). Hiccup and Jack stretched out, side by side, and Xavier sat next to Jack. A meow was heard, and Toothless jumped on Hiccup's stomach suddenly.

"Hey bud," Hiccup said, reaching up at petting the cat's head. Jack looked at Hiccup's face contentedly: those green eyes were full of unadulterated affection for the creature sitting on top of his chest, those thin lips pulled up in a perfect smile and showing off those crooked front teeth, those freckles practically shining in the sun.

Xavier watched Jack watch Hiccup from the corner of his eye, and barely managed to stifle his laugh. He tugged at the bright green grass before him, biting his lip viciously and his eyes watering from unspoken laughter. He knew that look in Jack's eyes like the back of his hand: admiration, maybe even puppy love. He had known this was going on since last year, and it was getting on his nerves that Jack wouldn't just tell him about his crush already. But, he kept his mouth shut, because Hiccup didn't know what the hell was going on either.

When Jack didn't stop looking at Hiccup with his heart of his sleeve, Xavier laughed out loud, his eyes turning green for a millisecond before turning back to their original mundane brown. Jack snapped out of his little staring session, and Hiccup stopped petting Toothless, and all three looked at Xavier with confusion evident in their eyes.

"This is so stupid," Xavier breathed, still laughing, but his friends had heard him. "I'm getting lunch." He said, standing up, throwing his rucksack over his shoulder, and strolling back to the castle in one fluid motion.

"Well, that was odd," Hiccup said, sitting up and dumping Toothless into his lap unceremoniously. Jack chuckled and sat up after him.

"Very odd." He agreed, then stood up and stuck his hand out towards the freckled boy. Hiccup took it without hesitation, and pulled himself up with Jack's assistance (don't worry, Toothless had the common sense to jump out of his lap at the last second). Their hands lingered together for a second longer and then the contact broke.

"Lunch, right?" Jack said, not helping the smile that spread across his face. Hiccup laughed and slung his backpack onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, a sandwich sounds killer right now," He said. The two trailed back into the castle, their shoulders brushing occasionally and Toothless walking behind them. They were quiet but it was a comfortable type of silence, definitely. Toothless, surprisingly, stayed silent as well, and was content with watching Jack closely.

The Great Hall was filled with people by the time Hiccup and Jack had gotten there. It was a good thing that Xavier, who met up with Lauren, saved the two a spot. Hiccup immediately took a plate of smoked Icelandic cod and placed it on the ground, and Toothless attacked it with enthusiasm.

"Geez Hiccup," Lauren said, laughing. "Do you ever feed your cat?" Xavier laughed, and Jack cracked a smile. Hiccup rolled his eyes, sitting down and taking a sandwich from off one of the platters.

"It's not that I don't feed him," Hiccup said. "It's that he never gets full."

"Ah, yes." Jack sighed. "Blame the _cat_." He put a lot more emphasis on the last word, making Hiccup kick sideways and catch the side of his leg. "Ow. Wha-?" was Jack's reaction, and Hiccup gave him a hard look.

"Dude, I wouldn't even go that far." Xavier enthused, smiling at Jack's pain and the unusually hard look that was still glinting in Hiccup's eyes.

"Well, sorry," Jack said, rolling his eyes and rubbing his leg thoughtfully. Hiccup really didn't hit him that hard, it was just the shock of getting hit that hurt him (scared him) the most.

"Wait, what just happened?" Lauren asked, confused. Xavier, Jack and Hiccup all shared a tense look, and then the three burst out laughing. "Did I miss something?" The statement only made them laugh harder. Xavier was smacking the table with his palm; Jack was hunched over in his seat, his head down, his smile wide and his shoulders shaking violently as he tried to stop laughing; Hiccup was doubled over, clutching his sides and laughing the hardest out of all of them.

"N-Nothing…" Hiccup said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Alright then." Lauren said, getting up and slinging her bag on her shoulder. "I've got to go, but I'll see you around?" She asked, directly to Hiccup. He nodded, and she smiled. Lauren sent a little wave at the three, swooped down quickly to pet Toothless' head in farewell, and then she left the Great Hall.

"You had to say that, didn't you?" Hiccup said, shoving Jack's shoulder half-heartedly.

"What are you talking about?" Jack said innocently.

"It's supposed to be a secret!" Hiccup said, his eyes darting from Toothless to Jack again. Jack just laughed, and Xavier watched the two, a smile on his lips.

"Well, it's not like she's automatically going to know-" Jack refuted, but Hiccup cut him off.

"But what if someone else figures it out?" Hiccup asked.

"No one's going to figure anything out, Hic." Xavier said, using the nickname that Hiccup absolutely hated (he made them swear not to use it in first year, but Xavier was the only one who used it now… just to get him to shut up). "You're over-reacting. Calm it down a notch."

"Fine," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes expertly. Toothless jumped up next to him, and meowed loudly, just in time for the shrill bell to drown out the sound. They all flinched, and then sighed.

_Back to class_…

* * *

_***Time skip***_

* * *

**Hiccup's POV**

"I cannot believe he didn't give you detention." I said, keeping in my laughter no matter how much it hurt. Jack just smiled at me, walking away from the classroom door with a new swagger in his step. Xavier scoffed loudly.

"I can't believe he didn't kill you!" Xavier said, punching Jack in the arm.

In Defense, Jack decided that he would try out his new spell he was making. I didn't really believe it myself when I found out he made his own spells, because that takes a lot of work, research, and knowledge. I at least expected him to be in Ravenclaw if he went through all that trouble! Anyways, it was his Frost Spell that he's been working on forever, trying to get it perfect. He thought he cracked the code (metaphorically, of course) in class today, and tried it out… on Professor Bunnymund. The spell had a little kink in it, and Bunnymund's tail was frozen stiff. After, Jack got the nerve to say, "Whoops, sorry Cottontail!"

Let's just say Bunnymund was reaching for his boomerangs when the final bell rang.

"Just some innocent experimentation," Jack said, his eyes crinkling at the edges from his wide smile. I had to remind myself to tear my eyes away from him (if I had my way, I would stare at him all day).

"Innocent," I said, laughing. "Yeah, sure…"

"I'm serious! It's not my fault the gigantic kangaroo got in the way of my spell!" Jack said, hopping slightly on the balls of his feet as we continued down the hall.

"As long as you don't use that on me, I'm good." Xavier said, holding his hands up at shoulder height. He's been the victim of too many of Jack's spells over the past couple years.

"Don't get your hopes up," Jack said, digging through his pocket for his wand.

"Can we please not start this right now?" I said, trying to be the peacemaker I always ended up being when fights like these broke out. People were staring at the three of us, knowing what exactly we were up to, and they started laughing. Jack found his wand.

"Ha!" He yelled triumphantly, striking a pose and pointing his wand impressively at Xavier. Xavier stopped in his tracks, and slowly took out his own wand, the tip pointing directly at Jack's nose.

"Guys, come on, really?" I said, trying to get in between them so they would stop. They both had grins on their faces, tipping everyone off that this wasn't indeed a real fight, but a crowd gathered anyways.

"Nah, come on Hiccup. I wanted to see that!" Someone yelled through the crowd, and pushed their way towards us. Xavier snapped out of his fighting stance, his eyes bright at the sound of Lauren's voice. Jack burst out laughing, and put his wand away, much to people's distaste.

"Hey Lauren." Xavier said hopelessly, and I had to roll my eyes. She gave a little wave.

"Go on everyone!" She said, turning around and throwing her hands in the air. "There's nothing to see here!" Everyone groaned, muttering good-naturedly, and walked away. "So… what are you two fighting about now?" Lauren asked, turning around and putting her hands on her hips.

Jack and Xavier looked at each other, opening their mouths to answer her question, when they burst out laughing. I smacked my hand to my forehead, trying not to laugh with them.

"Is it terrible to say that I have no idea?" Jack said, running a hand through his hair. The act was so simple, but it stirred something in the pit of my stomach at the same time.

All I could think was, "_how would it feel if I did that to him?_"

"Then why would you fight if-? You know what, you guys are idiots." Lauren said, giving up on the two of them. Jack's smile grew wider, taking on the look of mischief that I knew so well, and tackled her. He wrapped her in his arms playfully, her shocked expression pulling everything together.

"Why, thank you, Lauren!" Jack squealed, hugging her tighter. Lauren worked to get out of his grasp.

"Jack, get… off… me!" Her broken sentence came out as she pushed away from him. He suddenly let go, letting her stumble backwards. I caught her by the shoulders, making sure she didn't fall.

"As you insist." Jack said, giving a huge, sweeping bow in mock-respect. Lauren just scoffed, then laughed.

"Okay, okay," Lauren said. "We're even now: I stopped your fight, you killed me with a hug. Great." Xavier laughed, his cheeks burning with something (rage? Jealousy? Want?).

"Fine, we're even." Jack said, sticking his hand out. Lauren grabbed it, and they shook hands.

"Hiccup!" She said, as if remembering something. "Ready to go?" It sort of became a regular thing, Lauren and I hanging out after class. I smiled, and nodded.

"See ya guys later." I said, offering a wave to Xavier and Jack. Both of them waved back with smiles on their faces. But as I turned away, following Lauren down the hall, I saw Jack's smile fall and practically shatter like glass on the marble floor, his hand falling back to his side hopelessly. With that look on his face, all I wanted to do was run up to him and hug him to death and ask him what was wrong.

"Is everything alright?" Lauren asked me, tilting her head to the side and moving her blonde hair out of her face simultaneously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assured. She gave me a skeptical look (I could never really lie to her, I found that out after the third day of knowing her).

Lauren continued walking on our usual route to the Library when I grabbed her arm and steered her in a different direction. She stumbled a bit, but recovered nicely. The look on her face was extremely confused.

"What-?" She started to ask, when I cut her off.

"I just remembered this really cool place I found a while ago," I said. "Change of scenery never hurt, right?" Lauren rolled her eyes, and laughed a little.

We arrived at a blank wall not so long after that, and she gave me a look, as if I was crazy. I ignored it, and scrunched my eyes up tight and thought, "_I need a comfortable place to study with my friend_," three times.

Three seconds later, and intricately woven white door bloomed from the wall. Lauren gaped like a fish out of water at the wall. A gilded doorknob appeared attached to the door, and I pulled it open quickly. Lauren tentatively stepped inside the room, and I literally had to push her inside and shut the door behind me quickly (it was the secrecy factor, okay? It was necessary).

"And…" I said, stretching out the word and gesturing to the room. "This is the Room of Requirement."

The Room was brightly lit, with a wide window and a huge beige couch next to it. There was a small table piled high with food. There was a door off to the side, a bathroom, just as a precaution. It was extraordinarily simple, but Lauren was infatuated.

"This is so awesome! It just came out of the wall, like 'what the-?'" She said cutting herself off. "How did you find out about this place?" Lauren asked as an afterthought.

"Read about it in Hogwarts: A History. Geez, does anybody read anymore?" I asked, rolling my eyes sarcastically. Lauren just shot me a look, flopping onto the couch, her bag resting at the base of the couch.

"No offense Hiccup, but I wouldn't read Hogwarts: A History if someone put a gun to my head and threatened to shoot." Lauren said. I laughed at her and the Muggle expression, and moved around to sit on the couch next to her.

"It's not that bad, really…" I said, pulling out my homework. She did the same, scoffing.

"I don't want to read about a whole ton of dead guys for fun!" Lauren protested.

"So you'd rather read about a whole ton of made up guys?" I asked, giving her a skeptical look. She shoved my shoulder playfully.

We did our homework the best we could, occasionally asking each other questions and goofing off with random banter that came out of nowhere. After, Lauren settled herself on the side of the couch nearest the window, and gasped loudly.

"Hey, look." She said, tugging at my sleeve. "Jack and Xavier are playing Quidditch." I looked over her shoulder, and saw two little figures flying erotically around the Quidditch pitch. I laughed.

"How in the heck can you tell that it's Jack and Xavier?" I asked. Lauren just gave me a look.

"Please." She said. "I could spot the two dorks fifty million miles away." I rolled my eyes, and gathered a piece of her hair in my fingers.

"Don't you think that's a bit of an exaggeration?" I asked, separating the hair into three strands and started to braid them together.

"It's only exaggerating if you stretch the truth." Lauren said seriously. "And technically, if I use a Super Sight Charm, I could see them."

"But you don't have a Super Sight Charm on you right now, so technically you're exaggerating." I said, my fingers still twisting her hair into its pattern, the braid reaching the middle of her back so far. Just halfway done…

"Okay, fine Mr. Technical. I'm exaggerating." She said, twisting her head to look at me, only to jerk her hair away from my fingers. "What are you doing?" She asked, her own hands flying up to her hair and finding the braid.

"I was braiding your hair. Now, can I finish it?" I asked. Lauren blinked at me, and turned forward again. I got the unfinished braid and continued the pattern deftly.

"Sorry…" She mumbled. "Not a lot of guys know how to braid hair."

"My mom taught me before… you know…" I said, focusing a bit more on the pattern as I reached the bottom. "I used to braid her hair when my dad was away. But after she… died… I just sort of stopped doing it."

"Yeah…" She said, and I let go of her hair. Lauren twisted around to face me, a smile on her lips. "Plus, your dad would probably beat the snot out of you if he found you doing anything remotely girly." I laughed a bit, knowing how true the statement was.

So then started the task of playfully lacing more and more braids into Lauren's long hair. There was about five before I stopped, my fingers tired. Lauren just laughed, throwing her hair back over her shoulders and looking at her reflection in the window.

"You know what?" She said, looking at herself with a smile on her face. "I think I'm going to leave it like this." She stated with finality. I choked.

"Are you serious?" I asked, not knowing if she was kidding or not.

"Yes! I'm dead serious!" She said. "I'm going to start a new trend, just you watch!" I laughed, and rolled my eyes slowly. I moved, laying down on the couch and hanging my legs over the edge of the couch. Lauren did the same, only facing the other way so that our heads were next to each other.

"You keep believing that." I mumbled, smiling to the ceiling. She scoffed.

"Hiccup, can I ask you a question?" She said, the nervousness in her voice evident in the question. I blinked quickly.

"You just did." I replied. She rolled her eyes at me. "Go on." I said.

"Do you like anyone?" she asked.

"Uh…" I said, a bit awkwardly. "You'd… you'd probably kill me if I told you." I said uncertainly.

"Do you really think I'd kill anyone?" She asked. "It's not like I have a reason to!"

"Eh, I don't know. You could be a crazy psycho-killer and I would have no idea." I said.

"Still." She said. "I don't think I would kill anyone without a really good reason."

It was silent for a while, and I was debating with myself whether or not I should tell her. She was trustworthy, and she would find out sooner or later, but… I cringed, shutting my eyes tightly. I stole myself for five seconds, and…

"Jack." I managed to spit out.

"What?" She said. "No, I don't really have a reason to kill him. Except maybe for the fact that he's so gosh-dang annoying…"

"Lauren…" I said. "I was answering your question." I said quietly. I didn't know whether to laugh at how ditsy she was in that second, or to cry because I finally told someone. Now everything was going to change: Jack was going to find out some way or another, and then I wouldn't have any friends and I'd be alone again…

"What?!" She asked again. "You… you…"

"Yeah." I said, sitting up and getting off the couch. "I'm gay." Well, now that I admitted it… "So, I'm just going to go… and I'll see you later, maybe." I grabbed my backpack and slung it on my shoulder. I was walking towards the door when a hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. As soon as I did, Lauren thumped me on the back of my head with her open hand lightly, and then she pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked, breaking her hold on me and holding me by the shoulders now. "Does it look like I give _two flying shit bricks_ if you're gay or not?!"

"I-I…" I stuttered.

"Well, I don't," Lauren said, pulling me into a hug again. This time, though, I hugged her back.

* * *

**Jack's POV**

"Wow, you're flying is really off today!" Xavier yelled at me as I wobbled slightly on my broom. I was originally planning for all three of us playing a scrimmage game of Quidditch today, since the pitch wasn't being used, but Hiccup flaked out. Not that it was much of a loss, since Hiccup was a rubbish Quidditch player, but I still wanted to have all three of us together again.

"Shut it, X!" I yelled back. Then I laughed. "And even then, I'm still a better flyer than you!" He frowned, and shot towards me. Xavier lunged for the Quaffle that was tucked in the crook of my arm, and I moved away from him, laughing.

"You little shit!" Xavier cursed, racing after me. I totally didn't see it coming when he rammed against my side, making me drop the Quaffle. He swooped downwards into a dive and caught the ball-ish figure in mid-air.

"Well, that simply wasn't fair." I muttered. Xavier decided to show off, and he started spinning the Quaffle on the tip of his finger.

"Admit it: I won fair and square." He said with a smirk, tossing the Quaffle up, only to catch it and tuck it safely in the crook of his arm. We both raced down and hopped off our brooms.

"I wouldn't say 'fair and square' because… you know, the field is sort of an oval-ish shape…" I said as we put everything back the way it was. Xavier rolled his eyes at me, and made a motion that suggested him whacking me upside the head with his broom.

"You know what I mean, Jack." He said.

"Well, duh." I replied. "I'm not stupid."

"Are you going to fucking tell me what's going on, or are you just going to stay like this forever?" Xavier blurted out suddenly, holding his hands out and looking me straight in the eye. I couldn't look away.

"What… what the hell are you talking about?" I managed to choke out.

"You've been acting different." Xavier said, his hands falling back to his sides. We put away our borrowed brooms, and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You're flying was off today. And… you're always, like, depressed or something. And you're _actually studying_." He said, a sense of incredibility in his voice. "You never study! In all the time I've known you, you've never studied or actually tried hard enough to get an E on one of the essays Pitch assigns!"

So, maybe I was throwing myself into my homework a bit, and studying. It wasn't my number one choice, but it felt like it was an escape route. That didn't mean I paid any attention in class, though. I just looked at Xavier, shocked, really. If he's noticed that, could he had noticed…? No, he couldn't have. We grabbed our bags and I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he shut me up.

"Don't even try saying that you want good grades this term because I know you don't give a shit about grades." Xavier said as we walked towards the castle. I shut my mouth. He knew me too well. "If… if you would just tell me, that would be magnificent."

I sighed, defeated. I knew that tone in Xavier's voice; he used it when he found me crying in our room, a month after Emma died… there was the right mix of seriousness, sternness and care laced into his voice. It was the voice of genuine concern and hope for your well-being. Hell, it was the voice of a worried friend.

"It's just that…" I started out, having no way of putting this. "So, I've liked this… person for a while now." Xavier raised his eyebrows at me.

"A person." He repeated.

"And… I've been trying to work up the nerve to ask them out, or at least make a move or something…" I explained, trying to be as vague as possible. "But… they've started hanging out with this other person, and I'm sort of jealous, even though the certain person I like assured me that there was nothing going on between them…"

"Can you just stop with the secrecy and use their names?" Xavier blurted out, unable to help himself. "I know you're talking about Hiccup and Lauren."

I was a fish out of water, and he was a fisherman, standing over his catch with a sadistic smile on his face, just thinking about all the fancy dinner dishes he could make with my corpse.

"H-How did you-? I-I mean, n-no, that's… that's stupid. Why would I-?" I started to stutter. Dammit. That assured him even more, because I almost never stuttered.

"I've known for a while now, dude." Xavier said, slapping me on my shoulder. "No need to get your boxers in a twist." I blinked at him.

"… Am I really that obvious?" I asked.

"Nah," Xavier said, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. "It's just the way you look at him sometimes. You look different when he's around… happier, more yourself."

"Aw… X, you do have a heart!" I said, poking his shoulder. He whacked me away.

"I should be saying that about you," He remarked under his breath. I rolled my eyes at him. "So… when did this happen?"

"What?"

"How long have you liked the little fishbone?" Xavier said bluntly, folding his arms across his chest and looking at me with an expectant look. Why did he have to be so straightforward? My blood instantly rushed to my cheeks, and I inwardly cursed Xavier's existence. "I swear to the freaking gods, man…"

"First year?" I said, cringing at his delayed reaction.

"What…?" Xavier said, his mouth working more than it should have.

"I've liked him ever since first year. I just didn't notice until the end of second." I said quickly. Xavier's mouth popped open, forming a perfect "o" before he closed it again, smacking his lips loudly and nodding his head slowly.

"I should have seen that one coming." He said, laughing slightly. I blinked quickly, completely confused. "No offense dude, you're like a love-sick puppy when you're around him."

"W-What? Pfft. N-No, what are you talking about? No I'm not!" I stammered, brushing him off. He just stared at me. "You're an ass, do you know that? You just like seeing me spaz out and shit."

"Pretty much."

"Go stick your tongue in Lauren's throat." I said, waving him off, only to be greeted by a harsh punch to my shoulder. "What? You know you want to~"

"Go confess already." He said, mocking the tone in my voice and waving me off in a similar manner. I resisted the urge to punch him. "No, I'm dead serious. Just go tell him." Xavier said. I put my face in my hands quickly, before straightening up and running my fingers through my hair.

"I can't." I said weakly. "I… I don't even know if he swings that way, you know? And… and we've been friends for practically forever. If I say anything, everything would be ruined and I really don't want to lose a friendship because of my stupidity."

Xavier looked like he was going to grab me by the collar of my shirt and shake me, with his fingers twitching and his brown eyes becoming darker than usual. There was also a black spot forming on his nose. He blinked quickly, his eyes crossed and spying the change in his nose. Xavier exhaled, his eyes and nose returning to normal.

"Okay, then." He said, folding his arms in front of his chest. "You have to promise me something, though."

"What?"

"Snap out of this stupid-ass funk you're in." Xavier demanded, pointing a finger at me accusingly. "It's pissing me off. I just want my friend back."

"Fine." I said, smiling.

Well, that could have gone worse.

* * *

**And now everyone knows~ Except for the two main people that should know. Muahaha! Thanks for reading! It's means a lot, guys! Leave a review or feel free to PM me! **

**Huggles for all! *hugs***

**-HB**


	5. Chapter 4: Kill Me Now

**YO! Hey guys! Well, here we go again! This is, again, really repetitive, and I'm sorry, but the next couple chapters are going to be totally separate from LITL!**

**Warning: minor character death, but don't worry! It's all okay!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN HP, HTTYD OR ROTG**

* * *

Chapter Four: Kill Me Now

"You doing anything?" Jack asked, poking Hiccup's side annoyingly. Hiccup rolled his verdant eyes at him.

"No, Jack." Hiccup said, the sarcasm basically dripping from his voice. "I'm just sitting here, randomly writing a five-inch essay for Defense in my free time."

"That's _exactly_ why you should have been in Ravenclaw, Frecks." Jack said, ruffling his hair. "Come on… don't be boring."

"Do you really expect me to succumb to peer-pressure?" Hiccup asked dryly, looking over his shoulder to see Jack flashing an innocent smile his way. It was a good thing he was sitting because he would have melted on the spot if he wasn't (inwardly, he was cursing himself, because this was so fucking stupid; he was already falling really hard for a person he's known for five years, he should have been used to the effects that his smile had on him by now).

"Maybe~" Jack said. Toothless walked up and circled himself around Hiccup's ankles.

"Seriously, Toothless?" Hiccup had to ask. "What side are you on?"

"The fun side." Jack informed him, the freckled teen not knowing that he was quoting the cat-slash-dragon himself. Hiccup rolled his eyes again, putting down his quill carefully and turning around to fully face Jack.

"So you're telling me," Hiccup said, "that you want us to go flying, in the middle of the day, and risk being caught?"

"Pretty much!" Jack said. Hiccup's expression said it all as he turned back around to scrawl something else out onto his parchment. "Hiccup… No one's out on Saturdays, we'll be fine!"

"You know, there are these magical portals called _windows_, and they let people see the outside world." Hiccup said, feigning awe and not even looking up from his essay. Jack huffed, and plopped down in the seat next to Hiccup.

"You're being difficult." Jack whined. Toothless sneezed.

"I know. So are we going or what?" Hiccup asked, standing up suddenly and shoving his newly-finished essay, quill, and ink into his backpack and pulling out his wand from his boot.

So that's how the two found themselves sneaking into the kitchens. Thanks to Hiccup's fame with the yetis and elves, he gained them some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a smoked cod for their little adventure. Hiccup thanked them graciously, shoving the food into his backpack and walking out. He had to pull Jack out by the collar before he could steal another intricately-crafted cookie from the yetis.

The three hiked up to their dorm, passing Xavier on the way up.

"Hey X, where are you going?" Hiccup asked.

"Uh, nowhere." Xavier said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Just going to head up to the Library to work on that essay for Defense, you know…"

"She's usually in the fiction section, you dork." Hiccup said, clapping his hand onto Xavier's shoulder. "Good luck!"

"W-What?!" Xavier said. Hiccup laughed loudly at his reaction and Jack tried his best to contain his own snort of laughter.

Once the three of them entered their dorm, Hiccup fished his wand out of his boot again and cast the spell on Toothless. A second later, the black Night Fury was wiggling in anticipation. Hiccup laughed, then hauled out his flying gear from his slightly beat-up trunk.

"Need help with that?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, here," Hiccup said, handing over the smoked cod that he got from the kitchens. "Feed Toothless, will you?" He said. Jack took the fish and unwrapped it, throwing the paper down onto the floor and holding it in his hands, not knowing what to do with it.

"Um… why?" Jack asked slowly.

"Just think of it as a trust exercise." Hiccup said, shrugging as he got to work on hooking Toothless up to the invention.

Jack took a deep breath and held out the fish for the dragon. Toothless sniffed at it cautiously, before snapping it up in his jaws and devouring it in two bites. Jack, startled by the sudden movement, stumbled backwards and fell on his ass. The dragon shared a look with Hiccup before walking closer to Jack and regurgitating half of the fish onto his lap.

"Ew!" Jack said. "Freckles, I think Toothless has a disease or something! He just threw up on me!" Hiccup laughed, and Toothless warbled.

"Nope, he doesn't have a _disease_." Hiccup said rolling his eyes. "Go on, take a bite." He motioned to the half-fish in Jack's lap.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Jack said, slightly in awe and slightly hoping that this was some sick, twisted joke.

"Come on, I had to do it!" Hiccup argued. "It's only fair that you do, too."

"**Just eat it, Frost**." Toothless said. Jack hesitantly took a bite of the fish, and almost immediately vomited, but he managed to swallow the mouthful.

"God, that was awful." Jack said, shuddering.

"Great. See? Now we can go." Hiccup said, hooking up the last buckle.

He threw the window open and Toothless hopped outside, hanging off the ledge like he always did. Hiccup climbed on, hooked his foot in the right spot, and they took off. Jack hung out of the window after they left, one hand gripping the window's frame and his foot on the building while the other half of him was dangling off the side. Toothless and Hiccup made a loop, and as they were coming back around, Jack jumped off the ledge. The familiar and exhilarating feeling of weightlessness overtook him, but it all stopped when he fell onto Toothless' saddle right behind Hiccup (it kind of hurt, actually, but Jack wasn't about to complain). Jack wrapped his arms around the boy in front of him, and they set off again, flying faster than they normally would have.

Toothless brought them soaring over the Forbidden Forest, the treetops under them flying past at top speed, the wind battering them harshly. Hiccup had to laugh as Toothless looped upside-down in the sky and Jack held onto him a little tighter than before. There was a break in the trees, and Hiccup patted Toothless' head.

"There, bud," He murmured, and Toothless changing directions into a deadly fast dive, barely pulling out of it in time to land on the ground on his paws. Hiccup and Jack slipped off, laughing lightly.

"I swear, one day you two are going to be the death of me." Jack said. Hiccup pouted.

"Not intentionally, of course," He remarked, pulling out the sandwiches from his backpack and clumsily tossing Jack one. They sat down on the soft grass near the little lake and munched happily on the food. "How were you? Over the summer, I mean?" Hiccup asked suddenly, making Jack chuckle a bit.

"Seriously? I thought the whole talk about summer was over and done with by now." Jack said incredulously.

"You know what I mean," Hiccup said, looking him in the eye. "How were you? After… after Emma?"

The previous year, during winter break, Jack went home for the holiday to spend it with his beloved sister and mother. There was a lake nearby that froze over every winter, making the most perfect, private ice skating rink there ever was. Jack took out Emma, who was happy to do anything with her older brother… but it was too early in the season, and the lake wasn't frozen over all the way. Jack tried to help her, and since he forgot his wand, he resorted to grabbing hold of a funky-looking stick and trying to push her out of the way. He was too late, though, and the ice cracked from under her, the icy waters below claiming her life.

Xavier and Hiccup knew there was something wrong the minute they saw Jack, whose eyes were continually red and puffy. Their normally happy friend wouldn't smile for days, no matter what stupid tricks they did to try and get him to crack a smile. It wasn't until Xavier woke up one night to Jack crying that they learned what had happened. Hiccup immediately sympathized, because he knew what he was going through.

And slowly but surely, throughout the rest of the year, Jack got out of his funk and was back to his normal self. At the end of the year though, you could tell there was a sort of anxiousness that was there in him about going back home. But he couldn't avoid it forever, and he knew his mother needed him too, so… he went back home anyways.

Jack blinked slowly, hanging his head. When he opened his eyes again, they were downcast, staring perfectly at his half-finished sandwich.

"It was… it was pretty rough. My mom was working at the Ministry the whole time so…" He said, his chest feeling tight and his eyes burning slightly.

"So you were home alone most of the time." Hiccup said, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah…" Jack said, taking another bite of the sandwich. It tasted like sawdust in his mouth now, but he made himself chew it and swallow.

"You know, it wasn't your fault in the first place." Hiccup said, setting the food aside and placing his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"It was. I took her skating that day. I was stupid enough not to bring my wand…" Jack responded.

"Yeah, that all happened, but you can't blame yourself for all that happening. It's not like you planned her death," Hiccup said, shaking Jack's shoulder lightly. "And didn't I tell you to send me an owl if something like that happened? I would have used some Floo powder or something!"

"Yes, because you always swoop in and save the day." Jack replied sarcastically.

"Well, it would have gotten your mind off things." Hiccup said. "You need to stop blaming yourself for all that."

"I make a mess wherever I go…" Jack said, not looking up. Hiccup rolled his eyes, his heart secretly hurting for his best-friend-turned-crush. He poked his cheek suddenly, making Jack jump and turn towards him.

"Don't say that." Hiccup scolded.

"I might as well just give in," Jack said with a sigh. "I'll never win against your Viking stubbornness."

"Yes, that's right. Because you cannot fight all… this!" Hiccup said, flexing his twig-like arms intimidatingly. Jack laughed, then pinched the almost nonexistent bicep.

"Oh, of course. I'm shaking with fear." Jack said, with a light laugh. Hiccup took pride in said laugh, taking that as a sign that Jack was feeling slightly better about his sister's passing or that he was getting his mind off bad memories. Jack, unable to eat his sandwich anymore, threw it carelessly to the side and flopped backwards, laying down in the slightly overgrown grass.

"You should be." Hiccup said, laughing, He laid down in the grass next to Jack. Their hands touched, a little bit more than slightly, but instead of shying away, they both smiled to themselves and left their hands where they were.

And for the longest time, the two just lay there, watching the clouds roll by and trying to find recognizable shapes in their ever-changing forms.

* * *

Xavier stood outside the Library for a good moment, before taking a deep breath and stepping inside. He struggled to keep his composure and his features relatively normal. Who cared if his eyes were a few shades lighter and his hair was darker than normal? Blame the lighting on that, for sure. After about ten minutes of scouring the whole Library, he finally found the fiction section of the huge place, barely taking up a tiny corner. But there was a window seat, and it was currently occupied.

Lauren, seeing out of the corner of her eye that someone was there, looked up from her book and smiled sheepishly.

"Hey." She said, swinging her legs off the seat and walking towards him.

"Hi." Xavier said. "I have something to talk to you about."

Lauren blushed. "Really? Okay." She said. They sat down and Xavier looked at the floor.

"So… okay I know this is going to sound really weird, and I know that this stupid, but really, I have no one else to talk to about this, and I'm pretty sure you're going to understand anyways…" Xavier said, rambling.

"Can you please just tell me? Anticipation is killing me over here." Lauren said, smiling.

"Jack has a crush." Xavier blurted out. Lauren's face fell momentarily, her heart hurting for Hiccup.

"Well, who?" She asked, cringing slightly at the kicked-puppy tone her voice had.

"That's the crazy part!" Xavier said, carding a hand through his hair. "I mean, I've been knowing that he's liked this someone for a long time now, but I just assumed that it's another one of his flings, you know? Just another girlfriend, whatever. No… this time it's different, and I really don't know how to handle it. Well, I do, but…"

"Spit it out. You're halfway there." Lauren said. Xavier chuckled a bit under his breath, then looked up at her.

"It's Hiccup." He said bluntly. Lauren's mouth dropped open, and both her hands slapped over her mouth loudly. She looked like she was going to scream. "Are you okay?" Xavier asked uncertainly.

"Hell to-the-freaking no!" Lauren said, standing up and pacing. "You've got to be kidding me. You didn't just say that. You _didn't_."

"Um…"

"This is so insane!" Lauren breathed. "Do you know how crazy this is?"

"Do you mind telling me what you're freaking out about?" Xavier asked, completely lost.

"Oh." She said, turning red from embarrassment. "Well, you see… Hiccup likes him too."

"You've got to be fucking shitting me?!" Xavier said loudly, and Lauren shushed him, putting her hand over his mouth.

"We're in a library, you dork!" She scolded. "But… yes. I'm dead serious."

"They like each other." Xavier said, feeling completely happy for a moment before having that leak out of him quickly. "Well, damn. They're never going to figure it out." Lauren's happiness deflated too, and she sat down huffily next to him.

"Dang." She sighed lightly. "You're right."

"Why don't they just tell each other? They're semi-smart people! They can figure it out by themselves!" Xavier said, throwing his hands in the air. Lauren laughed a little.

"They just don't want to believe it." She said lightly.

"I wish we could do something." Xavier said, and Lauren regarded him with wide eyes. "I mean, not shove them in a broom closet and until they have sex or anything but… just get them to open their eyes a little, you know?"

"Xavier!" Lauren said, kissing his cheek and making him turn a deep red (quite literally). "You're a genius!"

"I am?"

"Yes!" Lauren said. "I've got a plan or two, and I might need your help. Are you game?"

"Sure," Xavier said. "What do I have to do?"

"For now, leave it to me." Lauren said. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

**Yeah, so, Jack was unable to save his sister during the winter break of Fourth Year. :(**

**But... Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review or shoot me a PM!**

**Love you!**

**-HB**


	6. Chapter 5: Remorse and Reasoning

**Hey! So... um... this happened. I don't know how to justify this...**

**Note: I made a lot of Harry Potter references here, so everything wizard-like is not mine. **

**Warning: A LOT OF UNPRECEDENTED ANGST. I AM SO SORRY.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN HP HTTYD OR ROTG**

* * *

Chapter Five: Remorse and Reasoning

**Jack's POV**

"Today, class, we will be workin' on… Attack!" Bunnymund said. Everyone looked at each other, confused. "We're dueling, ya gumbies." He clarified, and we all laughed uncomfortably. "Oh, come on. It's goin' ta be fun! Jus' you wait. So. Get into partners of two, and practice some of the offensive and defense spells I've taught ya so far."

"I call Hiccup!" I yelled, throwing my hand in the air and pointing at Hiccup. He turned an interesting shade of red as he looked at me as if I was insane. "What? You have suckish aim and your defensive spells need work."

"Oh, as if you're the spell master, Professor Frost." Hiccup said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at me.

"You two are such idiots," Xavier sighed, getting up and leaving to find a partner.

"Idiots?" I scoffed. "As if. So… are you ready?"

"To duel you?" Hiccup asked, laughing incredulously. "Any day."

"Geez, sounding a bit cocky there, Freckles. Maybe you need a refresher course in humility," I remarked. We walked away from each other, and turned around so I was facing him and vice versa. We bowed, low, sweeping and mocking, and the duel began. I shot a Bat Boogey Hex at him instantly.

"Humility? What have you got to say about humility?" Hiccup asked, blocking my spell with a flick of his wrist and shooting a spell at me in retaliation. I dodged it as it flew above my shoulder. "Your head's as big as a hot-air balloon."

"You know that would've been a good _come-back_," I said, punctuating the word with another spell cast his way, "if I knew what a hot-air balloon was."

"Oi! You two! Stop talking trash an' just duel!" Bunnymund scolded.

"But we are, Professor!" I said, straightening up from my dueling posture for a moment and letting myself look at Bunnymund… which, now that I think about it, was my mistake.

I felt the momentary feeling of lukewarm water was being poured down my body. Then, it was almost as if someone grabbed my ankle and hoisted me up in the air. The world turned upside-down and the blood started rushing to my head instantly. I heard Hiccup laugh a little.

"Get me down!" I yelled, looking at Hiccup who was smiling brightly in my direction.

"Who doesn't have aim now?" He countered, his laugh bubbling in his voice.

"Hiccup! Get me _down_ from here!" I said, feeling myself get hoisted higher and higher into the air.

"Alrigh' Bitesize, I think he got the point," Bunnymund said.

"Thanks, Cottontail!" I said, sticking my thumbs up. Some students laughed, still trying to focus on their own duels, but the sight of me upside-down in mid-air was too tempting for them. Hiccup waved his wand, his mouth moving, saying the incantation under his breath, and suddenly, the world was moving so fast I couldn't make sense of it. There was a flash of orange that I couldn't make sense of.

"JACK!" I heard Hiccup yell, the panic and worry saturating his voice. I didn't have time to react to anything, because as soon as the sensation started, it stopped.

I felt a second of pain, and then… nothing.

* * *

It was one of those times when everything seemed to move in slow motion. As soon as Hiccup wove his wand, he knew something bad was going to happen. Maybe it was his gut telling him this, or maybe his conscious, but he just knew it. When Jack started his descent, all he could think of was, "**NO!**" But every part of his body seemed to be frozen, forcing himself to watch his crush plummet to the floor. Everyone else seemed to be in this daze as well, seeing as though no one moved a muscle (except their eyes, of course, which were watching Jack fall).

Hiccup was the one to break out of the trance. After what seemed like an eternity, he flicked his wrist again. He tried to perform a spell that would cushion any fall, a spell that would make the fall as if you were landing on a million pillows. But, Jack was right: his aim sucked. The blast of orange light that burst from the tip of his wand narrowly missed Jack, just passing over his shoulder.

"JACK!" Hiccup yelled, his fear using his voice as its outlet. He moved forward, but it was to no avail.

Time seemed that now would be the perfect time to speed up, and Jack fell onto the marble floor, the sound of impact crushing Hiccup' heart in the span of a second. Jack was instantly unconscious, anyone would know that by how he was lying. Hiccup stumbled forward, dropping his wand with a disgusted look thrown its way. He collapsed onto his knees next to Jack, a tear silently making its way down his cheek.

"Move, Bitesize," Bunymund said, nudging Hiccup to the side none-so-gently. The huge bunny pressed his ear to Jack's chest, his paw simultaneously finding Jack's wrist and pressing two of his digits onto it. There was a couple moments of silence that hung over the room, and then Bunny sat up.

"Class's dismissed. Go find somethin' else ta do." Bunnymund ordered. He grabbed his wand, almost out of thin air, as the students filed out of the classroom hurriedly; they have never seen or heard Bunny this serious, and they weren't about to make him mad. Hiccup made no move to leave, and neither did Xavier, who was standing a little ways away.

Bunny stood as quick as lightning, and muttered an incantation. Jack's limp body lifted into the air, and Hiccup wanted to shout at the professor to put him down; _magic already did enough harm to him, he didn't need more!_ But Xavier put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed, shocking him out of whatever he was in. Bunny dropped down on all fours, his right hand still holding his wand into the air, effectively suspending Jack in the air. Without warning, he was literally hopping out of the classroom quicker than anything, a floating Jack following quickly behind him.

"Come on," Xavier said, shaking his shoulder slightly before moving to follow Bunnymund. Hiccup stayed rooted to the spot. "Hiccup?"

"I did this…" He said, taking a step back. "I can't…" He couldn't go see him. He couldn't see the damage he caused. He couldn't see the pain he inflicted on the one he loved. He couldn't see Jack so _broken_ and know that he made him that way. Not now, not ever.

"It was an accident, Hiccup." Xavier said gently, his hair slowly turning a darker shade. "You didn't mean it."

"He's hurt now and it's all my fault…" Hiccup managed to blurt out before sitting down on the floor. He spotted his wand next to him, and threw it against the wall, where it clattered uselessly onto the floor. Hiccup pulled his knees up to his chest, and buried his face in between them.

Xavier didn't give him time to brood, as he stalked over and grabbed him by the shoulders. Roughly, he pulled Hiccup onto his feet as if he weighed nothing and shook him slightly.

"Accidents happen, Hiccup." Xavier said, his facial features not matching the fierce tone in his voice. "And there's nothing you can do about it but move on. _Accio_ Hiccup's wand." He said, waving his own wand. Xavier caught Hiccup's wand deftly and placed it in Hiccup's left hand. "We're going." He said with finality.

Hiccup found himself mechanically putting all his things away and following Xavier through the hallways, heading towards the Hospital Wing. Xavier had to basically steer him by grabbing his shoulder because he was moving too slow and was tripping everywhere. In all honesty, Hiccup looked like Grade-A shit; he was pale, his freckles the only color on his face; his lips were pressed into a flat line, the only time it crinkled was when he obsessively bit his bottom lip in worry; his hands were gripping his backpack straps tightly, his knuckles white. Out of all the years Xavier knew him, he never looked this bad. Which was saying something, because he's seen some crazy stuff happen to the auburn-haired boy.

After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at the Hospital Wing, and were immediately intercepted by Madame Pomfrey.

"Aster said you two would be coming." She said, handing them each a glass of water before sitting them in comfortable armchairs. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," Hiccup mumbled, his words being muffled when he took a sip of the liquid in the ornate glass cup. Madame Pomfrey swooped down in front of him, and pressed a hand onto his forehead. "Emotionally, I mean." He corrected, and she clicked her tongue at him for giving her a scare.

"We're fine, thanks," Xavier said. "How's Jack?"

"I knew you'd be wondering about the poor boy." She said.

"He didn't die, did he?!" Hiccup exclaimed, the panic, worry and fear practically leaking out of his mouth and pooling at his feet. "Please tell me he didn't…"

"Calm down, Hiccup," Pomfrey said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "He's fine, boy. Jackson's sleeping now, and he deserves it. A mildly-fractured skull, a broken arm, and three broken ribs. Easily fixed. He'll live."

Hiccup looked up at her, and nodded, biting his bottom lip furiously. His eyes were shining with unshed tears and rimmed with red. He was all to blame, and he knew it. He shouldn't have done this…

"Could we see him?" Xavier said, knowing the thoughts that would mostly likely be passing through his friend's brain at the exact moment they did. Madame Pomfrey sighed, and gave the two boys a sincere look.

"If you want. But keep your voices down. He needs his rest." She answered.

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey," The two of them answered. She patted each of them on the shoulder before moving out of their way and into her office. Xavier gave glanced at Hiccup before moving off into the direction of the only occupied bed in the Hospital Wing.

Jack looked bad, worse than how he looked after a typical Quidditch match, and that's _really_ bad. His shirt and cloak was folded neatly at the edge of his bed. Because of this, you could plainly see that his chest was wrapped up in pristine white bandages, and his slightly swollen left arm in a sling. His head was wrapped delicately in the same white bandage, red staining the fabric slightly near the back of his head.

_I hope Hiccup doesn't see that_, Xavier thought, no, more like prayed.

There was a choking sound, and Hiccup was right behind him, hand over his mouth in an attempt to suppress the noise. A silent tear spilled out of Hiccup's eye for the countless time that day as he stumbled forward, dropping his backpack onto the floor with a light _thud!_ and collapsing into the chair next to Jack's bed. Xavier looked on, knowing that there was nothing he could do to help either one of his friends, and it was sort of depressing, really.

There was a long silence, and Xavier didn't know his friends could be quiet for this long… but then again, one was dead asleep (no pun intended) and the other was grieving (sorta). He knew class would be out for everyone by now, and that rumors would be flying above everyone's heads about what happened. He could practically hear the chatter, the exaggerated recounts of one Defense lesson being tossed about the castle, leaving the truth uncovered.

And that's when Lauren came running in, her eyes frantic and worried. Her hair flowed after her, the newly-acquired braids lacing through it and down her back. She stopped suddenly as she reached Xavier's side. And then she saw Jack lying on the bed, looking broken.

"Oh," She said softly, biting her bottom lip. "They weren't lying…" She didn't even ask what happened; maybe she didn't really want to know. Lauren hugged Xavier quickly, and then moved closer to Hiccup's side. Her hand moved and touched his shoulder and he flinched as if she struck him. He looked up at her, and stood up. They were hugging in an instant.

"It was all my fault…" Hiccup mumbled, defeated.

"It was an accident," Lauren corrected, holding him by the shoulders and saying what Xavier has been trying to say since this thing started. Xavier had to roll his eyes. Hiccup was too stubborn for this. Of course he wasn't going to listen. Their hug broke and Hiccup sat back down in his chair.

Another silence filled the room, and it was even deadlier than the last. Lauren was definitely at a loss for words.

The silence broke a couple silent minutes later when Jack started moaning in his sleep. Hiccup looked up so quick that Xavier swore he got whiplash and Lauren didn't know what happened until Jack turned his head, a concerned scowl on his face.

"Heeh…" Jack said, his lips moving lazily and his eyes scrunching up. Hiccup blinked quickly.

"Jack?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper since his throat was spent from crying.

"Hic…" Jack responded.

"Um…" Lauren breathed, tugging on Xavier's cloak. "We should go…"

"Hiccup…" Jack said.

"Jack?" Hiccup said again, a little louder. He grabbed Jack's hand. "I'm here…"

"Jack's in good hands," Xavier said, smug. "See you later, Hic."

"Shut up…" Hiccup mumbled as the two strolled out of the Hospital Wing, Lauren hooking arms with Xavier and smiling. Silence filled the Wing again, and Hiccup felt himself break a bit. He stared sadly at his crush's face, until Jack's fingers twitched in his.

"Mmph," Jack mumbled, his eyes cracking open and his head moving. He grasped Hiccup's hand tighter, not wanting to let go of the comforting and warm source even if he didn't know what it was. _I feel like_, Jack thought, _I got hit by the Knight Bus_…

His intense blue eyes fluttered open, first focusing on the ceiling far above his head before flitting down to the object he currently clasped in his hand tightly. He figured it was a hand before, but as he followed that hand to its owner, a wide yet pained smile spread over his face when he saw Hiccup. His eyes were red and blotchy, and when he smiled, it didn't feel right.

"H-h-hey, J-Jack," Hiccup stuttered, trying to pull his hand away but to no avail since Jack held onto it as if it was a vice. "How are you f-feeling?" Something in his voice tipped Jack off that he was crying, or that he had already cried, and if that was the case, then recently, too. He frowned.

"Good." Jack answered, his vocal chords feeling tight. "You don't look so great." He managed to choke out, looking at Hiccup with worried eyes. Hiccup wrenched his hand away from Jack's then, it coming up and wiping his eyes furiously.

"You should look in the mirror, Frosty," Hiccup said, trying to laugh and make a joke about it, but Jack saw right through his façade; his friend was obviously upset. "You don't look so good, either." He added.

Then Jack remembered, and he didn't know why it took so long for him to do so; the duel in class, the joking around, hanging in the air, and then the falling… His eyes were wide and his breathing hitched as the slight yet sharp pain he was feeling hit him.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked, noting this. Jack shook his head.

"Just… remembered what happened…" Jack said, his hand clenching into a fist.

"Oh, gods…" Hiccup breathed out, carding a hand through his hair. "Jack, I am so sorry, I… I didn't mean for all this to happen. I… was just kidding around and I took it too far and I'm sorry and I… I'm gonna go now. See you-" Hiccup said, standing up and making to get his backpack.

"What?" Jack asked, blinking at him furiously. "No, don't go."

"Why?" Hiccup said, his voice breaking. "I'm the one that did this to you."

"Not on purpose, you didn't." Jack said. When Hiccup showed no signs of staying, Jack let out a sigh. "Please stay."

The simple request made Hiccup stop dead in his tracks. Jack wanted him to stay; he wasn't mad, or upset. There was something in his voice that made Hiccup blink in surprise, because he simply hadn't heard it mixed in with Jack's voice before now, and he couldn't put a finger on it to save his life.

"Fine," Hiccup said, putting his backpack down and sitting back down in the chair. It was silent for a while.

"So…" Jack said suddenly. "What's the damage?" He asked. Hiccup laughed slightly at the familiar phrase, the one Jack said every time he got hurt during a Quidditch match or while trying to execute a perfect prank.

"Fractured skull, broken arm, and three broken ribs." Hiccup reported, not looking into his eyes and flashing the usual smile that would accompany the response.

"Not that bad," Jack mused, laughing. Hiccup tried to smile, but failed. "Hey are you-?" He started to ask, when girlish chatter reached their ears. Jack leaned forward, wincing slightly, and took Hiccup's hand, laying back down and closing his eyes and letting his mouth loll open. "Cover for me…" Hiccup heard him whisper before pretending to fall dead asleep again.

"Do you think he's okay?"

"I heard that was a really bad fall…"

"There he is!"

Ah, Jack's fangirls. Or, at least, that's what Hiccup called them. Practically all his ex-girlfriends, along with some other admirers, ushered themselves into the Hospital Wing and found Jack's bed with excited worry. As they saw him, they all collectively sighed, but some frowned when they figured out that A) he was sleeping or B) Hiccup was holding his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Some girl asked Hiccup in a harsh whisper. "Weren't you the one that tried to kill him?"

"For the record, it was an accident," Hiccup shot back, the venom in his voice stunning even if he didn't believe the statement himself. "And keep it down, he's sleeping."

"Is he okay?!" Another asked.

"Head trauma," Hiccup said. "It knocked him out really bad. He might need some morphine or something…" All the girls gave him a blank look as he mentioned the medicine. He laughed to himself lightly.

"Girls!" Madame Pomfrey screeched. "There are too many of you, and Jackson is in no condition for visitors!" The girls pouted, but were having none of it.

"But the fishbone is here!" One girl said. "Why does he get to stay?"

"I happen to be his _friend_." Hiccup snapped, his hand unconsciously squeezing Jack's. "And I'll be by his side if I want to."

"That's enough, Haddock," Pomfrey said, quietly chastising him into silence. The tone of her voice persuaded him to believe that she had the situation under control, but it did nothing to quell his slight anger. "The point is that Jackson is sleeping and he doesn't need all you lot watching him breathe. Now, you can send him your love letters and flowers later. All of you need to get out and let him rest." The girls left begrudgingly, mumbling as they did so. "Jackson, they're gone." Pomfrey said, winking at Hiccup and walking away.

Jack opened his eyes and squeezed Hiccup's hand, letting it go slowly. "Thanks," he said, smiling.

"Anytime." Hiccup said, taking his hand and wiping it on his pants, now realizing that his hand was exceptionally sweaty. "So, how are you feeling?" He asked lightly, looking at Jack with slight worry clouding his green eyes.

"Well, I've definitely been better." Jack said, laughing lightly even though there was no humor in the sound. He winced, the laugh hurting his damaged ribs. "And… I'm sorry, I have to ask… Morphine?" Jack tried to quell his smile and not laugh.

"It's a Muggle painkiller," Hiccup said. "It got them confused and out of here, okay? So…"

"I know, but… you would bring up something that no one knows about." Jack said, before yawning and then wincing.

"It hurts?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, maybe I need some morphine…" Jack said, smiling widely. Hiccup laughed, and nudged his uninjured arm with his knuckles.

"Jerk…"

"Feeling alright, Jackson?" Madame Pomfrey said, bustling in with a tray with two goblets placed precariously on top. She didn't even spill a drop as she bustled closer.

"Alright." Jack said. "What are those?"

"You should know by now, Frost." She said, setting the tray onto his lap. "Drink up." Pomfrey pulled out a skeleton-looking bottle from her apron pocket, and Jack made a face. Skele-grow. Hiccup stifled a laugh. "Hurry now. Don't wait for the grass to grow." Pomfrey advised, and Jack picked up the first goblet.

"I hate this stuff." Jack muttered before putting the goblet to his lips and sucking down the liquid inside it before he could protest. He almost spit the stuff out, before he forced himself to swallow. "God, that's awful." He mumbled.

"What did you expect it to be?" Pomfrey asked, taking a breath to continue, when Hiccup and Jack beat her to it.

"Pumpkin juice." They both answered dully, making her purse her lips in agitation. Jack choked, the taste still coating his tongue and the liquid threatening to make a reappearance.

"You boys have been in here too often." She scolded slightly. "Try to be more careful in advance." Madame Pomfrey said, handing Jack another goblet before walking off. He looked at it warily.

"You might as well get it over with," Hiccup said, laughing at the expression on Jack's face before stopping. Jack nodded, and tipped the goblet back, drinking it quickly.

"Ugh," he groaned, "it tastes like that black licorice stuff you gave me third year for my birthday." He said. Hiccup had to roll his eyes.

"Over dramatic, much?" He asked. Jack glared. "What was that anyways?" Hiccup said, leaning over and taking the cup gingerly from Jack's slackened grip. He yawned, showing off his pearly whites and making tears come to his eyes out of pain and sleepiness. Hiccup smelled the goblet, trying to see what exactly Jack just took. Dipping his finger into it and getting some of it onto his finger, he tasted it. "Damn." Hiccup cursed lightly. "Sleeping Draught."

"Nooo~" Jack said, the word of protest being drawn out by a yawn. "Pomfrey… Strikes again." Hiccup poked his cheek lightly, chuckling under his breath as he did so.

"Get some sleep," Hiccup said softly. "You need to if you want to get out of here faster."

"Stop being such a… a smart-ass…" Jack mumbled, his eyes already closing and his head lolling to the side. "Hey Hiccup…" he called weakly. "Don't leave…" He raised his hand, the action taking up more energy than it was worth. Hiccup's shoulders slumped, and he grabbed Jack's hand. When he did, Jack's hand fell back onto his bed and he was asleep in an instant.

"Why would I?" Hiccup asked, smiling slightly.

* * *

**Yeah, this is part one of two chapters of unprecedented angst and feels. But everything will get right back on track after that!**

**Thanks for reading, guys! Please leave me a review, tell me what ya think, or send me a PM! **

**Love you all! Thanks again!**

**-HB**


	7. Chapter 6: Stepping On Eggshells

**Hey! So, here's the second chapter of angsty feels and whatevers. Again, sorry. I didn't plan this, but it happened. So... ONWARDS!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING**

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Chapter Six: Stepping on Eggshells

**Hiccup's P.O.V**

"Hey Hiccup," Xavier greeted, sitting up on his bed and letting his issue of Brooms Weekly fall into his lap. I nodded at him. "Dude, you look like shit." He commented. I just rolled my eyes. Toothless saw me and ran in my direction, hopping into my arms and nuzzling my neck.

"Thanks," I mumbled. "I feel like shit." I saw Xavier frown. "How's Lauren?"

"Shook up a bit, to be honest," Xavier said. "She thought it was just another stupid rumor, but, ya know, stuff happens. She told me to tell you that it'll all be fine, though." I hummed, letting him know I didn't block him out. I let Toothless fall onto the floor, and he scampered off towards Xavier, demanding the attention I couldn't give to him at the moment. After rummaging through my trunk, I pulled out some pajamas and a towel.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow," I said with a yawn. "Now, I'm going to go scrub the Hospital Wing smell from just about every aspect of me."

"Have fun with that," Xavier said, scratching Toothless behind the ear.

I closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, sighing loudly. My heart was still hammering in my chest, even though absolutely nothing happened. After Jack was knocked out with the Sleeping Draught, I stayed there with him, like I said I would. But, he never let go of my hand, and when I tried to get my hand back, his grip tightened and he groaned. I thought it was useless to try more than I had to, so I rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb lightly as I scrawled out the answers to the questions Professor Tooth assigned for us in Transfiguration.

_I actually held his hand._ The thought dawned on me, and I smacked my hand on my forehead. He was asleep, but I still held his hand... for a while, actually. Pomfrey had to kick me out of the Hospital Wing, and since it was too late for dinner, I just came up here. I would have stayed a lot longer, possibly all night if I had to, but I didn't want any trouble, especially with Madame Pomfrey. She and I have gotten familiar during these past years, with all the trouble Xavier and Jack got us in.

I got the water running as I tore off my clothes. They smelled of sterile bandages, cleansing spells, potions and ingredients, and exaggerated flower perfumes. The smell made me nauseated. I tossed the clothes into the corner of the bathroom, not caring anymore as I quickly looked at myself in the mirror.

Gods, I did look like shit. My eyes were sunken in, my hair was oily and messy, my ribs and hip bones stuck out starkly despite my best efforts to gain a couple pounds… How could I even hope that Jack would like me?

I looked away, and climbed into the boiling hot water that was streaming down. I yelped a bit at the heat, but I got used to it as I stood under the water, letting it run through my hair and burn my skin. I washed my hair and the rest of me quickly, and stood under the water a little longer. I bit my lip and exhaled through my nose.

Today was so messed up… Everyone's saying that I shouldn't blame myself, but who were they kidding? Not me. I'm the one that caused him to fall in the first place, the one that landed him in the Hospital Wing (he would have been in there sooner or later, but seriously, that fact didn't make anything any better).

_He would be out of there soon_, I assured myself. The Skele-Grow would help with all the breaks and his fractured skull, and with enough sleep, he'll be back to normal in no time.

The water was still raining down on top of my head, the runoff sliding down my back and legs, so without further ado, I turned off the water and reached for the towel I brought with me. Drying off, I pulled on my pajamas and walked out, throwing everything into my trunk haphazardly and collapsing onto my bed face-first.

"Are you okay?" Xavier asked. I groaned in response. "I'm not going to tell you again, Hiccup." He said, irritated, reading me like a book and shooting me an annoyed look (I could feel it bore deep into my soul, rather than see it, because my head was buried in my pillow).

"Are you?" I asked. "Every time you say that, that means you're going to say it anyways." I lifted my head and looked at him. "So you might as well just say it again." Xavier rolled his eyes at me (which were bright orange and slightly glowing, and they were really starting to creep me out a bit).

"I'm not. You know I'm right." Xavier said, matter-of-factly. "It's overkill to say it again."

"So, maybe you're right," I said, "it doesn't mean that it makes me feel any better about any of this." Toothless wandered over towards me and nuzzled my face with his furry little nose. I rolled my eyes, and got my wand, saying the incantation lowly. Toothless was a dragon almost instantly, rolling me over with his snout and sniffing me all over. "Bud… stop…" I whined, trying to push him away.

"Toothless is right." Xavier said, a lightness in voice that tipped me off that he was about to laugh. "Stop moping in bed and live."

"I've been 'moping' for three seconds, and both of you are on my case like I'm depressed or something." I said. Toothless snorted and Xavier raised an eyebrow, his eyes becoming a darker shade.

"You're not yourself," Xavier said. "You've _actually_ been crying. You haven't cried in front of me since your mom died! And you've been saying that it's your fault he's hurt. It was an accident. Everyone's been telling you that. Believe it for once, okay?"

"Ack," I scoffed at him. "That's not going to solve anything! He's still in the Hospital Wing, and he's probably going to have to be in there for the next couple of days! _I broke his freaking head, for God's sake_!" Xavier gave me a look that made me think he was about to get up and smack me. I thought he would've done it too, but he just balled his hands into fists. Toothless let out a growl, and I didn't know if it was directed towards me or him.

"You're not solving anything either!" Xavier refuted. "There's nothing to solve! Pomfrey's got everything under control, and he'll be out of there in no time and you know it. He's been hurt worse than this." The last sentence was softer than the others, as if it was more assuring than accusing.

"I know, but…" I said, sitting up and nodding. My voice trailed off, and Xavier raised an eyebrow at me. "That time it wasn't me that hurt him." Gods, why did I have to sound so _broken_?

"Goddammit, Hiccup." Xavier practically growled, getting off his bed and moving Toothless' head so he sat down right next to me. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "Get. Over. It. It was a fucking accident, okay? It's over and done with. Move. On. He's fine! He's alive! Praise the fucking gods that his fucking thick skull didn't shatter and screw him up for good! Do something other than sit around and be like this because there's _nothing you can do about it_."

He finally let he go, letting his hands fall into his lap. Xavier's eyes were a deep blue, almost black, and his canines were a bit longer than normal. His face was red. _Damn_, I thought, _he must have really been mad at me_. He bit his lip and closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his appearance was back to normal.

"Okay…" I said.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Xavier asked incredulously, throwing his hands into the air. "All I needed to do was yell at you, and you would've been okay?" I shrugged. Xavier shoved my head, making me fall back onto my pillow. "Go to bed, Hiccy." He said, laughing at my indignant yell. Toothless warbled his own little laugh.

"Fine, I'll sleep," I said, "but only because I don't want you going all crazy on me again." Xavier rolled his eyes.

"You deserved it, you psycho." He scoffed, climbing into his own bed and burying himself into his covers.

"X?" I asked. He hummed in reply. "Thanks." I said. I didn't get an answer back, but I knew he heard me. Toothless purred slightly, his tongue sticking out of his mouth to lick at my shoulder. "I'm fine, bud. G'night…" I cooed, patting his head reassuringly before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**. . .**

* * *

I woke up to Toothless nudging my shoulder with his nose. I tried to push him away from me, but it wasn't working out so well. When I sat up blearily, rubbing my eyes, and saw him wiggling from excitement, I knew exactly what he wanted to do. I groaned.

"Toothless, it's too early for this, really…" I said, getting up and yawning. Seriously, the sun wasn't even up yet! But Toothless was spoiled. I pulled on my boots and flight gear, stuffing my wand in my left boot just in case. Then I hauled out Toothless' fake tail from my trunk and hooked it onto him. I threw the window open, letting a chilly morning breeze rush into the room and make me shiver.

"Hiccup, what the…" Xavier mumbled, not opening his eyes and burying himself further into his blankets.

"Go back to sleep," I said, and judging by the snore that quickly followed, he listened to me.

I threw open the window, and Toothless climbed out. I followed, clambering onto his back and hooking my foot into my invention before sinking lower onto his saddle and taking off. The wind felt good on my face, and my hair was being tossed around like a rubber ducky in the middle of the ocean, but it didn't matter. We glided past the windows of the Hospital Wing and there was a sudden pang in my chest. Missing the feel of Jack's arms wrapped around me, I bit my lip and urged Toothless away.

I couldn't enjoy it for long, because the sun slowly rose into the sky. We flew back into my dorm, and I turned Toothless into a cat as soon as my feet hit the floor. The black cat whimpered slightly, like a kicked puppy, but he got over it quick enough. I tore off my flight gear, and gathered Toothless' up, throwing both of them into my trunk. I took my wand out of my boot and twirled it in between my fingers a bit, neon numbers flashing in the center. 6:07.

"Shit…" I mumbled, throwing my wand away and kicking off my boots. I padded over to Xavier and shook his shoulder. "X! Wake up, before all the cinnamon buns are gone!"

"Wha-?" He started to say, but at the mention of the cinnamon buns, he was wide awake, flailing to get out of his blankets. Xavier fell to the floor with a loud _thud! _"Thanks, Hic!" He said, getting up and picking out his uniform quickly. I did the same, but not for the exact reasons as Xavier.

Moments later, we were both dressed and ready for the day. Xavier checked himself once more in the mirror, and I had to grab his ear and practically drag him away.

"Come on, now." I chastised lightly, letting go of his ear. "Lauren doesn't care about looks!"

"What the-? Oh, I soooo hate you right now!" Xavier said, pushing at my shoulder.

"It's the truth," I said as we clambered out of the Portrait. "Um… go without me. I'll be there in a couple minutes…" I trailed off, about to make way to the Hospital Wing. Xavier scoffed at me, and grabbed my upper arm.

"Why?" He asked. "Where are you going?" That look in his suddenly-familiar-blue eyes made me scowl. And he just stood there and laughed at me.

"Go make out with Lauren already!" I said, wrenching my arm out of his grasp and rubbing where he had a hold of me (I will never admit it, but it really hurt). Xavier laughed again, hanging his head, and when he looked up, his eyes were back to their normal brown.

"I will! And you!" He said, pointing a finger at me. "Go tell the world of your…" He trailed off, smacking himself in the forehead and muttering something I couldn't hear.

"Finish what you were saying." I said.

"Go tell the world of your incurable medical condition of Scaly-Butt-itis, given to you by the one and only Night Fury!" Xavier said, throwing his hands out and striking a pose. Okay, that was obviously not what he was going to say. It was too dramatic and ridiculous to be his original statement. Usually, at times like this, he would jest at something that would be at least partially true!

"Of course!" I said. "I'll ask Madame Pomfrey if she knows an antidote for my terrible condition."

"Ha! So you're going to the Hospital Wing, eh?" Xavier asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I smacked myself in the forehead.

"Shut up," I said waving him off and walking away. I heard him laughing from down the corridor, and before I rounded the corner, I gave him the finger. Which, only made him laugh louder, so I guess that did nothing.

Through the halls and after a while of letting my feet walk me down the familiar path, I finally arrived at the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey greeted me with a slight wave and a jerk of her head. I smiled at her and let myself in, finding Jack's bed in less than an instant. He was already up, of course, looking out the window, blue eyes alight with the smile that showed off his perfect teeth. The bandage around his head was clean, his arm still in the sling, and his chest was bare but still had wrappings around it…

_Hiccup…. Stop staring at his chest and say good morning…_

"Hey Jack!" I greeted, smiling at him brightly and hoping I wasn't blushing like mad. _Keep your eyes on his face… keep your eyes on his face_… "How are you feeling?"

"Shitty," Jack said, pouting. I tilted my head in an unasked question as I sat down in the chair next to his bed. "You know what bugs me about this the most?" His voice sounded irritated. I swallowed the lump in my throat that appeared suddenly and raised my eyebrows. "You know what? Forget it, I'm too mad at you right now to even look at you." With that, he turned his head away from me.

My heart sunk down into the balls of my feet, and then burst through the floor and probably fell to the center of the earth. It'll be burnt to a crisp in the molten core like the bad marshmallow everyone's heard so much about.*****

"Oh gods…" I gasped. "Jack, I'm so sorry. It… it was an accident, and I shouldn't have been playing around…" I was cut off by Jack turned back to me.

"What are you-?" He started to ask, before his eyes went wide and then he chuckled slightly. "Hiccup, no… I know it was an accident. I'm not mad about _that_."

"Then what are you talking about?" I asked.

"I saw you this morning." Jack pouted. "You flew… right in front of the window. I'm sorry, but you could have broken in and have stolen me for a quick flight…"

_...That's_ what this was about?

"You're hurt! There was absolutely no way that I was going to kidnap you and go flying like nothing happened!" I refuted.

"Who cares if I'm hurt?" Jack said.

"Uh, me, idiot. And Madame Pomfrey! Oh gods, she would kill me if I kidnapped you for a flight." I grabbed my hair and pulled lightly, thinking about the tongue-lashing Pomfrey would give me if that ever happened.

"I know, but it's worth the risk." Jack said. "I'd rather be with you than anywhere else."

"Oh, how flattering, but that's not true." I stated. "You'd rather be at the Quidditch pitch, or…" Jack poked me.

"You're missing my point." Jack said. "Next time, if anything like this happens, you have to swear to kidnap me."

"Fine. Maybe. Whatever." I said. The bell rang. "I gotta go."

"I'll see you later!" Jack promised. "Pomfrey says I could be fit to leave here by tonight!"

"Great! See you then! I'll grab your homework!" I said, a smile lighting up my features. I heard Jack groan as I ran out of the Wing, yelling a thanks to Madame Pomfrey on my way out.

I made it Transfiguration with moments to spare before the bell rang, and I sat down in my seat with a huff. Toothania looked at me bizarrely, only because I haven't been nearly late before, and then started the lesson. Xavier, who was in the seat behind me, laughed a little and tapped my shoulder. I turned around to look at him.

"How was he?" He asked with a light smile on his face.

"He says he can leave sometime tonight." I said. Xavier's smile got wider.

"Cool." He replied. "Now shut up. I'm trying to learn, over here, and you're distracting me!" I rolled my eyes as I turned forward again, acting like a was paying rapt attention to what Professor Toothania had to say. In reality, I wasn't, and I was thinking about tonight when Jack would finally be back and things returned to normal.

* * *

**Jack's POV**

"Now, you need to be more careful," Pomfrey advised, pointing a finger at me accusingly. She handed me my shirt. I rolled my eyes and nodded, pulling the shirt over my head with a wince. Damn, my ribs hurt.

"I know your spiel already," I reminded her, "can I just go now?"

"No." She said tersely. "Those ribs of yours are going to be sore for a couple days. If you're not careful, they can break again. So, keep the pranking and the excessive physical activity to a minimum-"

"You say this every time I land myself in here," I muttered.

"-like running or _flying_-" Pomfrey started to list off, putting emphasis on the last one.

"Wait. How do you know-?" I started to ask, but her next words cut me off.

"-Oh, and absolutely _no_ sexual intercourse for _at least_ a month." She said with a smirk and an almost knowing expression on her face.

"W-what?!" I said, completely mortified. _Where the fuck did this come from_?!

"Trust me, you can wait that long." She said shortly, folding her arms over her chest. She misinterpreted my surprise, and now it made things worse. I felt my cheeks go red and I twitched nervously. _What the ever-living_ fuck?

"No, not that." I said. "W-why would you say something like-?" She cut me off again. Over the years, I noticed that she had a knack for guessing what I was going to say and coming up with comebacks.

"I know everything that happens around this place," Pomfrey said, gesturing around the Wing. "I can guess what's up just by listening in on a conversation." I blinked at her. What was she going on about? "You and Haddock make a lovely couple."

"What?!" I said, shocked. "We're not- I mean, how could you-? We're just-" Dammit, why couldn't I say one sentence? It was driving me mad. With almost no effort on her part, Madame Pomfrey helped me off the bed and slapped my shoulder.

"Get goin'," She said, "before I turn you into a tea cozy." I nodded.

"Thanks, Madame Pomfrey." I mumbled, too shocked to really say anything else. I shuffled out of the Wing, my ribs hurting with every step, but at least I was on my own two feet and moving. My head was spinning, and the thought going around my head were jumbled and somehow all related and I couldn't make sense of anything other than…

She really thought we were together?

_Snap out of it, Jack, she was obviously playing with you_. Yeah, there we go. She was trying to get under my skin and it worked. Brush it off and pretend nothing happened. And nothing did happen. Okay…

I felt myself calm down enough and I sighed. Well, at least I'm out of there. Hopefully we didn't do anything remotely important in any of our classes… except Potions. Pitch can go die for all I care.

I rounded a corner and immediately bumped into someone. I stumbled back a couple steps and muttered a quick "sorry." And then I noticed who it was.

"Hey Jack!" Hiccup said cheerfully. He pulled me in for a half-hug that lasted for a millisecond before shooting me a crooked (and highly adorable) smile. "I was just on my way to see if the warden let you free yet." I laughed at his wording and raised my hands out to my side.

"I'm a free man, Freckles," I said, and he laughed at me.

"Come on, dinner just ended, but I'm sure the elves would be more than happy to whip you up something," He said. I nodded, noticing the familiar sense of hunger that gnawed at my stomach.

We started walking, the silence not awkward in the least. His hand brushed up against mine every once in a while, and our shoulders bumped from time to time. The contact was welcome to me, but he seemed a little stiff. He would always look at me nervously and mutter a quiet apology when it happened. I would roll my eyes every time. We reached the portrait of the bowl of fruit, and his fingers reached up and tickled the pear lightly. There was a high-pitched laugh and the portrait swung inwards. Hiccup stepped inside first and I followed, because the elves and yetis liked him better.

"Hi everyone!" He said. "How are you doing today?" There was a happy tingle of bells from the elves' hats, and unintelligible grunts from the yetis, but it was obvious they were happy to see him. "Um, I don't know if you guys have any left-overs from dinner, but if you do that would be awesome." He asked them almost shyly. I knew he didn't like taking advantage of them like this.

Phil, the yeti in charge, nodded and grabbed a platter piled high with food and desserts. An elf ran towards him and grabbed the platter, holding it above his head as he walked towards Hiccup with a wide smile on his face.

"Oh, wow, thanks, guys!" Hiccup said. "You're amazing, thank you so much." Everyone gushed at the praise, the elves surrounding him with the bells on their pointy hats jingling happily. The yetis nodded and smiled at him. "Um, I'm going now, but thanks, guys!" Hiccup said, laughing and shuffling out of the elf circle. He stumbled towards me and jerked his head back to the portrait. I raised my hand in farewell, and Phil glared at me. We walked out, and as the portrait swung closed behind us, Hiccup handed me the platter.

"I think this will help a little." He said.

"Oh, yeah, a little." I said, rolling my eyes. "I've just got a bottomless pit for a stomach." I teased. Hiccup nudged my side with my elbow, and I winced a bit, because you know, _the ribs_, but I hoped it didn't show.

"Shut up." He muttered. I laughed a little, smiling at him as he looked at his feet. His hair fell in his eyes, and there was a hint of a smile on his lips. I literally had to tear my eyes away from him, because I was starting to count his freckles. Once I start doing that, I literally can't stop until I know how much. I still haven't counted them all. I'll make it a goal one day.

We made it to the common room, and low and behold, my fangirls (as Hiccup calls them) were waiting for me. When I walked in, they screamed and ran over. There was ear-deafening chatter and high-pitched squeals. I heard Hiccup groan in the midst of it all, step-siding away from the sea of people and jogging up the stairs leading to the boy's dormitories. As he reached the top and saw me looking at him, he raised his hand in a mock-salute and ran off down the hall.

_Asshole_.

"Jack, are you okay?!"

"Why are you still hanging out with that fishbone?"

"He's the one that almost got you killed!"

"You can hang out with me, Jack!"

"No! He can hang out with _me_!"

"Ladies, ladies…" I said, trying not to sound like a fucking casa-nova or to not spill the platter of food. "Hiccup's my friend, and I'll hang out with him as much as I damn-well please. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to catch up on some sleep." So, maybe my voice sounded a lot ruder as I said that, but they still made way for me and stared at me dreamily as I walked up the stairs and went into my dorm.

"Oh, look, he's alive." Xavier said sarcastically from the windowsill. "We thought you would be smothered to death by now."

"Hey now," Hiccup said. "I said he was knocked unconscious and dragged into the girl's dorms."

"Nice to know that you guys are concerned about me." I mumbled, trying to keep a straight face as I sat down on my own bed and started picking at the food in front of me. I heard Hiccup laugh and Xavier scoff, but I didn't look at them.

"Oh come on, you know we're only kidding." Xavier said.

"Mhmm, sure." I said through a mouthful of food. "That's why you would just throw me out there to the dogs, huh?" Hiccup walked over and sat on my bed, leaning over and swiping some food off the plate. "Oh, come on, really? _Really_?"

"Pretty much," Hiccup said. "Besides, it's not our fault you left a legacy of heartbreak and charm in those poor girls. You basically sealed your fate. This is exactly what you get for being a heartbreaker." Was it me, or was there a twinge of anger in his voice? And a twinge of truthfulness that shone in his eyes and his smile?

God, I must be delusional…

My train of thought was broken as Xavier laughed and Toothless hopped up onto my bed. The cat gave the food a look before turning his eyes towards me.

"**Whatever you are doing, stop it**." Toothless said. "**You are making him hurt.**"

"Oh, yeah?" I questioned. "What exactly am I doing?"

"Well, first off, you're taking them out on dates, even when you know you don't like them all that much…" Hiccup said.

"And then you keep it going for a while. Like, what's all that about?" Xavier said, shrugging at his rhetorical question.

"And finally, you break up with them the exact same way, every single time." Hiccup spat, the venom in his voice clearly not real. "They're smitten with you, Jack, and all you do is break hearts."

"**I do not know, just quit it. I can feel the waves of sorrow and can practically smell the tears clogging up in his eyes**." Toothless said, growling slightly as he walked over to Hiccup and pushed his head under a freckled hand, demanding the boy's attention.

"Shit…" I muttered, looking at Hiccup. His smile looked half-assed and his green eyes did shine a little more than normal. Dammit, he was about to cry.

"Yeah, 'shit.'" Xavier retorted. "When are you going to learn?" He asked, sarcastically.

"Wait… what?" I asked, confused.

"Did you really not listen to anything we said?" Xavier asked, looking at me incredulously.

"I was, uh, thinking," I said, glaring at Toothless, who was now situated in Hiccup's lap. I nearly wanted to smack myself when I did, though, because I realized what was in the general direction of my glare when Xavier laughed loudly, throwing himself onto his back with gusto. "Devil cat…" I muttered, eating still. Hiccup gave me a weird look, his cheeks tinged red, as he reached up and pushed my head slightly, laughing.

"He is not the devil, okay?" He said. "Seriously, why do you keep saying that?!"

"Because it's true~" I sang through a mouthful. Hiccup just rolled his eyes as he gathered Toothless in his arms and stood from my bed.

"Goodnight, sickie." Hiccup cooed mockingly, walking off to his bed and getting into it.

"Whoa, whoa. Wait." I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "No flying tonight?!"

"No." Hiccup said. "You, sir, are playing a dangerous game with those ribs of yours. And Pomfrey said no flying, so… goodnight."

"Well, that's rude." Xavier muttered. "You guys have been flying on Toothless and you haven't told me?" Hiccup and I shared a look before bursting out into laughter at the same time. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Xavier cross his arms.

"You always knock out right before we leave anyways," Hiccup said.

"Plus, I don't think Toothless can hold all three of us," I said, and I wanted to add: '_Also, it's mine and Hiccup's _thing_, okay, so stay out of it_,' but I held my tongue.

"Yeah sure whatever…" Xavier muttered.

I guess this goes without saying, but after that the two fell asleep. I stayed up for a bit, under the watchful eye of Toothless, of course, and continued to eat until there wasn't anything left. Bored and nowhere near tired, I walked around the room a bit, finally coming to my senses when I found myself crouched at Hiccup bedside with my hand outstretched, ready to brush the hair off of his forehead. My hand froze in midair and shot directly back to my side.

What am I doing? _What am I doing?_

I stood right up and stumbled backwards, sitting on the windowsill next to his bed and splaying my hands out onto the window. And then there was the sound of crackling ice (you know, the one where you have ice in a cup and you pour some liquid into it, the way the ice sounds then... you know what I mean). I looked at the glass and gasped loudly.

There was ice on the window, right where my fingers were. But it wasn't just any ice, no, I knew that ice anywhere; it was my ice, the ice created by the spell I've been trying to perfect for two years now. The floral pattern etched onto it made in irrefutably mine.

The patch of ice grew, and I was half-tempted to pull my fingers away. When I did, the ice formed itself into a shape of a heart.

Goddammit.

I scrambled silently to find my wand on my bed, and when I did, I went back to the window and mutter the counter-spell, the one that made the ice melt. With the image gone, I sighed in relief and made it back to my bed.

"**Interesting**," A voice rang out and I jumped.

"Dammit, Toothless!" I cursed under my breath, but if that unnaturally loud purr was anything to go by, Toothless heard me.

* * *

***Reference to a play I did a couple years ago: Alice In Wonderland Jr.**

**Madame Pomfrey is all-knowing and extremely suggestive. This is really OOC, I'm sorry.**

**So, yup! Okay, this arc is finally over, and now on to the normal stuffs :D**

**Thanks for reading everyone! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Or PM me! **

**I love you all!**

**-HB**


	8. Chapter 7: Nothing In Return

**So, here's another one of this thing. Thanks for actually sticking around, guys! **

**Warning: weird thoughts. (*sobs* I don't know anymore. I am so sorry...)**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. I THINK WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT :D**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Nothing In Return

"Hey hey hey hey hey… Hiccup? Hic? Frecks? Freckles? Yo, Haddock?"

"Jack…"

"Oh, good, you're up."

"Get away from me."

"Never. Get up."

"No…"

"I guess I'll just take Toothless out by myself, then…"

"**No you won't**."

"Shush, whatever-you-are."

"Don't… you're ribs still need to heal and you don't even know how to work his tail…"

"Well, I guess I'll just have to take a shot in the dark."

"No!"

"GOD, GUYS." Xavier said, sitting up, his covers pooling at his waist. "Can you stop with your petty little squabble and shut up already? People are trying to sleep!" Jack scoffed at their grumpy roommate and rolled his eyes. "I swear," Xavier muttered, "just get a room and confess already." With that, he lowered himself back onto his bed, covering his head with his blankets and disappearing.

Jack's face was a hilarious shade of red, while Hiccup was unaffected. He didn't hear what Xavier said anyways.

"Come on, it's Saturday!" Jack decided to whine, getting off the subject as quick as possible. "Have a little fun!"

"You're still hurt, it's early, and you have homework to do." Hiccup argued sleepily, pulling his blankets over his head and muttering unintelligibly as he did so. Toothless curled up next to him, almost protectively, and gave Jack a little glare. It was obviously half-hearted and Jack knew that the dragon wanted to go flying just as much as he did, which was the equivalent of having it be a two-on-one debate. He was going to win this thing if it killed him.

"Okay, what if it wasn't too early, and I didn't have any homework to do?" Jack suggested. Hiccup poked his head out of his blankets, his green eyes skeptical. Jack heard the smile and sarcasm in his voice.

"Then it'll be a Christmas miracle." Hiccup muttered. Jack ruffled his hair forcefully, letting his fingers linger for a moment longer than they needed to.

Hiccup batted him off, but chills were making their way up his back as warmth pooled into his stomach. All he could think of was how those hands would feel doing something else, anything else really… _touching him, holding him, tugging at his hair, tracing down his chest and even further_… He covered his quickly reddening face with his blankets again and curled up in a ball. He could not believe how horny he was after waking up literally two minutes ago.

"**Great**," Toothless said sarcastically. "**Look at what you did**."

"Shut up, cat." Jack scoffed, digging through his trunk and not noticing Hiccup as he excavated his books, parchment, quill and ink. "I'm off to the Library. To finish my homework. See ya, Xavier. _Bye, Hiccup~_" Jack practically sang as he walked out of the dorm and to his destination.

"Well, that was odd." Xavier said, smirking at his friend curled up in a ball underneath his blankets.

"Haha, yeah, odd." Hiccup said with a slightly-nasally laugh along with the remark. "Just like Jack himself." Hiccup then flung his blankets off of him, a slightly hysterical expression on his face. "Gods, its hot." He muttered. "I'm going to the bathroom." He declared before marching off quickly. Toothless didn't even bother to move an inch to follow him.

Xavier shoved his face into his pillow. He noticed Hiccup's obvious hard-on and almost died laughing. _This kid has it bad_, he thought, _if a little hair tussle could turn him on_.

He bit his lip and choked back his laughter.

* * *

Jack stayed true to his word and found himself on his way to the Library. He really wasn't looking forward to the homework part of his day, but at least he might be going flying later on. He found himself in a rather secluded spot of the Library, and settled down in a chair.

Homework was a bust…

_"The difference between an animagus and Metamorphagus is very noticeable. I can't believe that anyone could get the two mixed up. An animagus is a person who has gone through a process that will enable them to become an animal at will. These people are carefully monitored by the Ministry of Magic… those who register, that is. There are many illegal animagi and there shouldn't be as many as there is; the process is dangerous and should be known of at all times…"_

"Well, I didn't expect you to be here." Someone said, causing Jack to jump a couple feet into the air. He turned around unexpectedly, only to find a girl. She had short, raven-colored hair, dark eyes, and a wide smile. Jack's eyes opened wide as he looked at his most recent ex-girlfriend, Sammy, otherwise known as Xavier's third-cousin.

"Uh, hey… you." Jack said, a little awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck. Their break-up was tough, mostly because Jack didn't have a reason (or one that he could tell her, anyways) and he said to forget the whole thing ever happened and that it was a mistake. She took it rather hard, but still had feelings for him.

"How are you doing?" She asked, sitting in a chair next to him and scooting closer. He moved away self-consciously.

"Ah, good. How are you?" Jack said, not looking up from his suddenly-interesting paper that needed to be written. Sammy laughed, the sound high and clear, and placed a hand on his arm.

"I'm fine," She replied. "Better now that I've found you." Jack moved her hand off of him and moved farther away.

"Haha, funny." Jack said, his voice dry and unamused. "Look, Sam, I told you that-"

"Hi Jack!" Another person said again, flouncing over and giving him a hug from behind, their hands folded across his chest. It was Lauren, and she was smiling as if she just one a million Galleons. "How're you doing today, love?" She questioned, punctuating her point with a fake kiss on his cheek, barely bumping their faces together, her lips not even touching him. Jack quickly got the memo and looked up at her, a wide smile on his face.

"Great!" He chirped. Then he spotted Sammy's confused face.

"Oh, hi!" Lauren said, disentangling herself off of Jack and reaching out her hand to Sammy. "I'm Lauren." Sammy knocked her hand away, tears in her eyes, as she got up and marched away. "I'm not going out with him!" Lauren called, despite them being in a Library. Sammy didn't stop, hell, she didn't even turn around. She continued on her way.

"Thanks Lauren." Jack said, running a hand through his snow-white hair.

"No problem." Lauren said, smiling. "You looked like you needed some help." She sat in the newly-unoccupied chair next to Jack and sat back. "What are you working on?" She asked.

"Transfiguration homework." He muttered.

"Ooh, the animagus and Metamorphagus essay?" She asked. "That's so easy! Why didn't you do it?" Jack gave her a deadpanned expression. "Oh, right. Hospital Wing."

"Yeah." Jack said, with an abundance of sass.

"Are you okay?" She asked, sounding worried.

"Yeah, fine." He answered. "I'm pretty much healed up except for my ribs, but those will heal on their own…"

"Not… what I meant, but that's good to know." Laure said. "I meant, you know, emotional-wise. You seem kinda out of it."

"Out of it?" Jack said, laughing. "I'm fine. Just… homework, you know?"

"Hmm… alright…" Lauren said. She got out of her seat, and moved around. She grabbed a book from one of the shelves gingerly and started reading. Jack laughed under his breath at how easily she backed off, and continued to write his essay.

* * *

"You know what's wrong with the two of them?" Xavier asked Toothless, petting the cat-slash-dragon with abandon. Hiccup had yet to come out of the bathroom, and he was pretty sure he knew the reason why. He laughed just thinking about. They were so damn obvious! And oblivious, for that matter. Toothless meowed in response, adding an eye roll for good measure. Then there was this loud rumble from Toothless stomach, and Xavier laughed.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat." Xavier said, standing up. It was almost lunchtime anyways… Hiccup would be freaking out to find that both of them were gone, so Xavier left a note saying where they went. Then he headed down the stairs. And then Sammy stormed into the common room.

"Hey, cousin." He greeted. "How's it-?" He started to ask when he noticed her crying. "What's wrong?"

"You're bloody best friend, that's what's wrong!" She said, obviously upset. "He could have at least told me he's got another girlfriend!"

"W-What?" Xavier asked. "Who?"

"This… this… _Lauren_ chick! I don't know!" Sammy said. Then she started sobbing, and ran to her room, practically wailing the whole time.

Xavier blinked, and Toothless pawed at his pants impatiently. He and Toothless walked out of the common room and made their way to the Great Hall. There was something seriously wrong here. Xavier seriously thought that Jack was over his "let's-get-a-million-girls" phase, whatever that was all about. But… him and Lauren? Jack told him that he liked Hiccup! And he damn well knew that Xavier liked Lauren, so what the fuck was this all about?

His mind was pumping out about a million words per second, none of them making sense, but all of them worried, shocked, angry, or some other emotion. By the time they made it to the Great Hall, he's heard five rumors about Jack and Lauren. It made his stomach roll over and his hands twitch. Oh, how his face wanted to change, but he had to keep that under wraps until he was alone.

The Great Hal was teeming with life, and Xavier was too out of it to care. He grabbed a plate with some random looking fish on it and put it down for Toothless to eat. That's what Hiccup did, anyways. As soon as Toothless saw the fish though, most definitely a smoked eel, he hissed and spat, backing away from it.

"Oh, don't like eel?" Xavier asked. He picked it up and put another plate of fish down. "I don't like eel much either," he muttered. Why was there so many types of fish, anyways? Ugh, whatever. He grabbed something random and started to munch on it absently.

He didn't know how long he sat there until he saw Hiccup walking up to him, an irritated look in his eyes. There was a smile pasted onto his face, looking like it was pasted there using some dried-out glue stick and it was going to fall off any second. He sat down with a huff.

"Hi." He said, picking up a chicken leg and setting it onto his plate. But he didn't touch it. He looked at it moodily and gripped at his goblet so tight, his knuckles were white.

"You heard?" Xavier asked.

"About…" Hiccup asked, looking up at Xavier, who nodded. "Yeah. Pissed off about it, actually."

"You should be." Xavier muttered. Hiccup heard and his jaw hung open wide, and he stuttered furiously.

"I-I-I mean, I'm mad for you. You know, he knew perfectly well that you liked Lauren and that-that…" Hiccup said, before Xavier waved him off.

"Tell me something I don't know." He said. "I don't think it's true though."

"Really? Why not?" Hiccup asked. "He does have a… a reputation." Seriously, there was nothing stopping him when it came to girls. It was the one fact that made Hiccup's life equally complicated and miserable… but he took what he could get, and if friendship was all he could get, then… Yeah, done with that topic, now.

"Yeah, he has a record and all, but…"Xavier said, "I don't think he would do that. It's just cruel, you know?"

"I guess so." Hiccup muttered.

"Hey guys!" Lauren chirped, practically skipping into the Great Hall and sitting next to Hiccup, her hand on his shoulder. "What's up?" She asked. Jack was right behind her, carrying his books and parchment like this morning.

"Nothing," the two of them muttered moodily. Jack sat down next to Xavier and looked at the two of them.

"Hey, Freckles," he said, "guess who's done with their homework~"

"Good for you." Hiccup said blankly, poking at his food with a fork.

"You alright?" Jack asked, leaning forward. Hiccup scoffed lightly, pushing his plate away.

"Fine." He said. "I'm just not hungry. C'mon Toothless." He said, standing up and walking out of the Hall, Toothless following diligently at his side.

"Okay, seriously, is he alright?" Lauren asked, pointing at Hiccup and looking at Xavier and Jack in turn. Jack just shrugged, and Xavier rolled his eyes.

"Hey Jack, seen Sammy lately?" Xavier asked.

"Um, yeah, why?" Jack asked, looking really confused.

"Nothing. You might want to keep an ear out, though." Xavier said, shrugging and standing up, snatching an apple from one of the fruit bowls nearby. "You know, Hogwarts and their pesky rumors." He smacked his lips before walking away, biting into the apple with an irritated air.

"What was that all about?" Lauren asked.

"No idea." Jack said shrugging. "Hopefully it wasn't too serious."

* * *

**Hiccup's POV**

Everything seemed right in the world at Hogwarts. Key word: _seemed_.

It was probably just a stupid rumor, I kept on reminding myself. Jack knew Xavier liked Lauren, and Lauren knew I liked Jack, and they were good friends, they wouldn't just turn around and do something like this… They wouldn't.

Toothless meowed loudly beside me, and I looked at him. He had a worried expression, his green eyes wide with curiosity and confusion.

"What are you looking at?" I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Pretty soon, I found myself walking along the shore of the Black Lake. The Kraken moved through the water languidly, almost mockingly, really, though I really didn't know why. I bent down and skipped rocks for a while. My high score was four skips. I did pretty much anything to keep my mind of things.

I mean he wouldn't really do that to me, _to us_, right? We're his best friends! This had to be a joke, right?

"Hiccup!" I heard someone yell, and I turned round to see Jack running towards me. I clicked my tongue and rolled my eyes. "Damn, thank the gods I found you. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Yay, you found me. Give the boy a prize." I said flatly.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked. I didn't answer as I looked at the Kraken, who seemed to be waving at me. There was a moment of silence. "Are you really mad about a stupid rumor?" Jack asked incredulously. His voice was almost accusing. "Seriously, Hiccup, it was a rumor!"

"Well, what else am I supposed to think when, right after I hear that, you two come waltzing into the Great Hall like a couple of lovebirds?" I practically shouted. I bit my lip. _This is crazy. Why am I mad? It's just a rumor. It's not even true!_

"Maybe that we're friends!" Jack answered back.

"_Sorry_ that wasn't the first thing that came to mind!" I said, throwing my hands in the air, but Jack caught my wrists before they could fall back down to my sides again. He held them at shoulder-height, and it was only then did I realize how close our screaming match got us. I was almost happy that I could blame my horrid blush on the yelling and anger.

"Do you really want to know what happened, instead of listening to rumors?" Jack asked, his blue eyes staring directly into mine. "She pretended to be all over me because Sammy was right there, okay? We told her that we were joking! She's the one who started the damn thing in the first place." He let go of my hands and ran his through his hair.

"Okay…" I said quietly. "I didn't know."

"Well, now you do." Jack said. "Are we better?"

"Yeah, we are." I answered. I felt like shit. This was so freaking stupid. All I'm doing is causing problems for him, and that wasn't fair. Before I knew it, my feet were moving and my hands were reaching up… I hugged him around his shoulders, my cheek on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." I said.

Jack hugged back, one arm across my back and the other at my side. "I forgive you." He replied simply.

Things were silent again and the hug suddenly turned awkward and stiff. Almost simultaneously, we pulled away from the hug, Jack running a hand through his hair and me rubbing my forearm, both of us looking away pointedly. I decided to change the subject quickly, hoping he didn't notice the blush that was on my face.

"So, uh, we should probably go clear this up with Xavier, then… huh?" I asked, clearing my throat more than necessary. Jack coughed into his fist, then smiled at me softly.

"Oh, Lauren's got that covered." He said. I nodded. "So…"

"Wanna go to the Cove?" I asked quickly.

"Sure!"

* * *

"So, lemme get this straight… you weren't mad?" Lauren asked slightly confused.

"No, I wasn't… I'm not. Well, I'm not mad at you and Jack… well, I guess I am mad at Jack…" Xavier said, rambling unnecessarily. Lauren gave him a look and he shut his mouth quickly before moving on. "I'm mad because they're both just so obvious and they don't even see it!"

"I know, so what are we going to do about it?" Lauren sighed. "I hate seeing that… _longing_ look in their eyes, you know?"

"Tell me about it," Xavier muttered. "I've been putting up with it for five years." Lauren laughed. "No, but seriously, we need a clever plan that will make them confess."

"Well, we can't really _make_ them do anything…" Lauren said reasonably. "But a little manipulation goes a long way." Xavier raised an eyebrow, and Lauren shoved his shoulder. "I've been thinking about it, and I think I have some pretty good ideas…"

"Well, tell me!" Xavier said.

"A love potion in some Halloween candy, because, you know that's coming up…" Lauren said, counting off on her fingers. "Ah… there's the anonymous letter proposition that I'll explain later, um… mistletoe in the hallway… and… a New Year's scandal."

"How many super-psycho-yet-brilliant plans do you have?" Xavier asked, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her lightly. "You'll have to explain to me the anonymous and New Year's thing, but other than that, it sounds great."

"I try." She says, shrugging. "They were pretty cute when Jack was in the Hospital Wing, though." She said. Xavier laughed.

"So we should land one of them in the Wing again," he said, grinning. "It would be perfect. They'll be shoving each other in a broom closet in no time!" Lauren snorted then, nearly falling onto the floor from laughing too hard.

"Idiot!" She wheezed, still laughing. "Maybe it would work, though…" She thought about it for a moment.

"Or maybe we should leave this all alone." Xavier said, changing his mind. "They might just figure it out later. The sexual frustration has to get to them at some point. I mean, we do share a room." Lauren blinked at him.

"Sexual frustration or not, do you see how dense they are?" Laure asked. "They'll never tell, and they'll never figure it out unless we help."

"Okay. Fine." Xavier said, giving up and throwing his hands in the air. "It was just a suggestion."

"Yeah I know." Lauren said, smiling. "I'm going to talk to the Headmaster, wanna come with?"

"Nah, I think he's seen enough of me for the rest of his life. I'm good." Xavier said, opting out.

"Okay. Thanks for the chat." Lauren said, placing her hand on his shoulder momentarily before leaning in and kissing his cheek. "See ya!" She chirped, practically running off.

* * *

**Jack's POV**

We walked around the woods for a while until we found the Cove, and by that time the awkwardness from before was gone. Toothless ran around, trying to snatch fish out of the lake with his enormous paws and trying to fly as high as he could without crashing.

"Okay, okay, I got one." Hiccup said, laughing. "Would you rather… eat your own tongue, or have terrifying nightmares every day for the rest of your life?"

And yes, we were playing "Would You Rather?"

"Oh, pfft, that's an easy one. Eat my own tongue, for sure." I answered lightly, flicking his forehead.

"That's disgusting!" Hiccup protested, smacking my hand away from him.

"Hey, if it's my tongue, I can't taste it right?" I reasoned. "Therefore, it would just be like eating anything else."

"Still. The visuals…" Hiccup said, shuddering. "Okay, your turn." He said. I thought for a moment… and then it came to me.

"Would you rather stand while flying Toothless or go ice skating?" I asked, smiling. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Typical, and way too easy!" Hiccup said, rolling his eyes and then pointing a finger at me. "Stand on Toothless' back, hands-down!" He replied.

"What?!" I stammered. "You're kidding, right? That's, like, super dangerous!"

"Eh, I've done it before." Hiccup shrugged. "Besides, the ice could break! Then I'd be dead for sure!" He looked down quickly, noticing what he just said. I gave him a sad smile before shaking my head of all previous thoughts and continued the light conversation.

"Okay, fine. If I froze the lake, right now, would you go ice skating with me, or would you still want to be a speck on the ground when you fall off Toothless?" I asked. It was supposed to be a rhetorical question, but now that I think about it, that could be possible… I let my hand touch the water's surface for a brief second and the water around my skin froze.

"I would rather be a speck." Hiccup deadpanned, looking at me seriously.

"Oh, come on! Where's your sense of fun?" I asked, ruffling his hair. I slipped my shoes off and let my bare foot touch the water and, on contact, it froze solid, fern-like patterns swirling beyond and threading out towards the center of the lake.

"Down the drain with my pride and sense of judgment." Hiccup said, trying to bat me away again before shoving my shoulder lightly. His hand froze on my shoulder when he spotted my foot. "Oh my gods, how are you doing that?" He asked, nearly shouting.

"Would you like to go ice skating?" I said standing up and holding out my hand. His mouth was gaping open, and it looked like he didn't have any teeth. _Adorable_! When he didn't take my hand, I took a step back, so I was supposed to be standing in the water… but I was standing on top of it.

"What-?" Hiccup started to ask when I began taking more steps back. Then I started running, the lake freezing beneath my feet at each step. "Jack!" Hiccup yelled, getting up and running to the edge of the lake. "You're going to kill yourself! Stop!" The worry was evident in his voice and I smiled, knowing that he actually cared.

"I'm fine!" I yelled, slipping slightly on the ice. "See?"

"Get over here!" Hiccup yelled. I rolled my eyes at him.

Toothless walked over and hopped on the ice without hesitation. He slid for a moment before his claws found purchase onto the ice, and after that, he was chasing me.

"**How are you doing this, Frost?**" Toothless asked me.

"I don't know!" I shouted over my shoulder at the dragon.

"You're crazy!" Hiccup yelled, sitting back down with a tone of finality. By now, the lake was completely frozen over, so I went back to Hiccup and knelt down

"You're skating with me if you like it or not." I said maliciously as I grabbed one of his booted feet. I trailed my fingers down its soles, then returned back to the middle. Then my index finger touched the sole of the shoe and rose up, bringing a thin yet sturdy piece of ice along with it. I did the same with his other boot. When Hiccup looked down, he gasped, because I made his boots into ice skates.

"Come skate with me," I said gently, pulling him onto his feet gently. He wobbled, and put his hands on my shoulders. Our faces were incredibly close, and I held in my urge to swoop down and just kiss him. I wouldn't want to ruin this whole thing. I guided him, step by step, to the edge of the lake until I was standing on top of the ice, barefoot.

"I don't think this is the best idea." Hiccup said uncertainly, looking down at my feet and then up at my face. I laughed, shifting my hands that had miraculously found his sides.

"Come on, if it can hold Toothless, it can hold us both." I said, taking a couple steps backwards and taking Hiccup along with me. He was wobbling precariously on the ice blades attached to his boots with every step onto the ice, but I held him steady.

"The gods hate me…" He was muttering. "I'm going to die… oh my gosh… ACK!" He said, one of his feet slipping out from under him. His arms wrapped around my neck, bringing him closer to me, and I knew I was blushing. I helped him get his balance back.

"Oh, thanks for making me feel believed in." I remarked sarcastically.

"If you haven't notice during the past five years," Hiccup said, "I'm incredibly clumsy and… me and ice don't mix. I slip and fall and hurt myself."

"Well, I'll be damned if you got hurt under my watch." I said. "Lauren's paying me overtime today," I muttered, looking to the heavens quickly. Hiccup clicked his tongue, clearly irritated.

"Oh geez, now I'm a liability?" Hiccup said. "That's cruel. You two need a stern talking-to. I'll get Xavier to help me."

"Yeah, because you'll probably crack up laughing even before you start your lecture." I remarked. Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Here…" I murmured, taking my hands away from his sides and coming up to his hands around my neck. I unwound them and held them by his wrists. Then I separated him from me.

"W-what are you doing? You know I can't-" Hiccup started to stutter when he slipped on the ice again. I held his hands higher, actually figuring out that I was holding his hands, and stood him back up. He was breathing hard and biting his lip, obviously scared.

"Well, if you weren't too busy worrying and being scared, we could actually be having fun with this." I said matter-of-factly. Hiccup scoffed.

"How are you even walking on the ice in the first place?" He asked. "And why don't you have skates?"

"Lots and lots of practice, Freckles." I said, stepping backwards even faster now, making Hiccup shuffle his feet a bit quicker. In reality, I haven't put on skates since last year when the thing with Emma happened, and I haven't even been on the ice. I was too scared to until now. But I knew what I could do now, and I knew that this ice would not be cracking.

"Oh, okay. Like that answers my questions." Hiccup remarked. "Nice way to be vague, Frosty."

"Just for that, I'm letting you go." I said, smirking at his shocked expression as I let go of his hands. He stopped moving immediately, his hands splayed out hysterically as he tried to maintain his balance.

"Jack!" He yelled, sliding an inch forward.

"See? You're doing it!" I encouraged.

"This isn't funny, you know!" Hiccup said, wobbling precariously but catching his balance easier than before. He took a step forward, looking at his feet the whole entire time. "Jack, I swear to the gods…"

"Well, get over here and I'll help you again!" I remarked, secretly biting the inside of my cheek. I was a little nervous for him, but everything would be fine. I was only a couple feet away from him after all, he could do this. I wiggled my toes in the icy surface. The lake was solid ice, no cracking and falling here.

"Fine…" I heard Hiccup mutter. He took a deep breath and started walking towards me, sliding on his skates with every step. I smiled at him and he glared at me as if he was trying to tell me to shut up with his eyes. I laughed.

"I told you that you could do it…" I muttered excitedly. Hiccup shot me another glare that easily melted into a closed-mouth smile.

He skated closer to me, a bit faster now, and he slipped at the last second.

"**Watch out!**" Toothless yelled, and I lunged forward and caught hold on Hiccup's waist. But the sudden movement was really that smart since I was on ice, and I felt myself lose my footing and start to fall backwards onto the ice. I waited for the impact when I fell into something warm instead of the ice: Toothless. He snorted before moving his head out from under me, letting me fall gently onto the ice with Hiccup on top of me.

But the impact with the ice, no matter how small, jarred me and Hiccup. He fell even more on top of me, his lips crashing painfully with mine.

Well, if you counted that as a kiss, damn it sucked.

The contact lasted only about a second before Hiccup pulled away, since I was unable of doing so, and he scrambled off of me, sitting onto the ice.

"Jack! Are you okay?" He asked me.

"Right as rain, Frecks," I said with a smile. My lip hurt, and Hiccup leaned in.

"Oh, damn, your lip is bleeding…" He muttered, taking my chin in one hand and wiping the trickle of blood away with his thumb. I looked at him, wide-eyed. He blinked, and then moved back. I could have properly kissed him then but… no, don't think about that.

"It'll heal." I noted, biting at the cut.

"We should, uh, get back to the castle." Hiccup said. "I would say we could fly there but… I don't have his gear." I pouted.

"Well, that sucks." I said. "But whatever. You'll just owe me one tonight." Oh, god, the way that sentence came out sounded all wrong. Hiccup turned red and laughed uncomfortably. I shot him a smile.

"You're such a weirdo, do you know that?" Hiccup asked, rolling his eyes and shoving my shoulder. I opened my mouth to respond when he started walking away. "Come on, we need to get back before anyone notices that we left."

"Right." I said, jogging to close the space between us and throwing an arm recklessly over his shoulder. He brushed it off and shot me a look, his smile killing the seriousness in his eyes.

"**You need to knock it off, or tell him already, because I am getting tired of this procrastination.**" Toothless informed me, who was walking in the back of us. I looked over my shoulder and glared at him. He glared right back.

"Hiccup," I said.

"Hm?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and looking at me.

"You're dragon's being mean to me. Make him stop." I said in the most serious tone I could pull off. Hiccup laughed.

"He didn't even do anything to you!" He protested.

"Yeah, but he's saying stupid things behind our backs. Literally." I informed him. Hiccup scoffed, but then his eyes widened and his face broke out into a disbelieving smile.

"You can understand him?!" Hiccup asked. "Whoa! That's awesome! Is that why you always sound like you're talking to no one?" The childish wonder in his voice made me laugh, and I poked one of the freckles on his cheek.

"Well, yeah." I said. "But make him stop. I feel harassed." Hiccup laughed as he dug one of his fingers into my side as retaliation.

"Toothless, c'mon bud." Hiccup scolded lightly. "Harass him more. He deserves it."

"_Hiccup_!"

I swear, his laugh resounded through the entire vicinity. It was a wonder centaurs who lived here didn't come and find us, then kill us for trespassing into their territory.

* * *

**Yes. Yes I did. (I regret almost nothing)**

**Anyways, yeah there's a lot of parallels to LITL here (and Frozen... whoops~), but it was fun writing this chapter, so I'm glad it was equally fun reading it!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing, guys! You don't know how happy I get when I hear from you! Thanks!**

**-HB **


	9. Chapter 8: Trying But Failing

**PHASE ONE: HALLOWEEN**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Trying But Failing

**Hiccup's POV**

Toothless was hissing slightly at my side in the morning, which obviously meant that something wasn't right here. I blinked groggily, and sat up, patting Toothless' head softly. He stopped hissing, but I could tell he was still glaring at something I couldn't see. I felt for my wand, which was on the table right next to my bed, and spun it in between my fingers quickly. Hmph. I was supposed to get up at this time anyways, but this was still ridiculous.

I detangled myself from my blankets and got up out of my bed. I started to walk towards my trunk to pull out my Hogwarts uniform when my bare feet hit something cold, and before I knew it, I was on my back on the floor, my head hurting something awful and cackling laughter filling the room.

"OW!" I said, rubbing the back of my head and sitting up. I shot a look at Xavier and Jack, who were almost joining me on the floor because they were laughing so hard. "Why would you do that?" I asked, slowly getting to my feet.

"I'm… I'm sorry Hiccup…" Xavier said in between his gasps for air. "I… I tried…" He started to say, but his guffaws swallowed his voice whole, making his hair turn a flamboyant purple and his cheeks a really deep red.

He looked like the inside of a three-year-old's coloring book, and that's offensive to the three-year-old.

"Happy Halloween!" Jack said, standing up straight and throwing his arms out before doubling over again and laughing. "I hope you're scared!"

"Scared of your ugly mug, maybe…" I muttered, feeling the bump on my head that was sure to form. "Besides, isn't all the pranks and stuff meant to be for April Fools?"

"C'mon, Hiccup! It was just a laugh!" Jack said, still laughing but at least it died down a bit. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I muttered, laying my clothes out on my bed, too tired and a little bit pissed off to bother to walk to the bathroom to change. And besides, it wasn't like this was a new development or anything. I shrugged off my pajama bottoms, letting them fall to the floor before picking them up and setting them onto my bed. I grabbed the slightly uncomfortable pants they made us wear, and pulled them on. "So lemme get this straight…" I said, looking back at them as I whipped my shirt off my head, "both of you got up early just to see me fall on my ass?"

"Okay, first of all, I woke up to Jack losing his shit, okay?" Xavier said. "And he dragged me into helping him."

"No, first off," Jack refuted, "don't talk about me like I'm invisible." He said, pointing a finger at Xavier. "Second off, I did not 'drag' you, okay? You willingly helped me with this."

I scoffed as I pulled on the white collared shirt and started up-doing the buttons.

"Thank you for that, actually," Jack said in an off-hand tone of voice. "Like I _really_ needed that image in my head." Xavier and I both sort of froze and stared at him.

"What?" Xavier said, laughing again. Jack clicked his tongue and shoved his head away.

"It's your stupid dragon!" Jack said, pointing at me. "I'm telling you, he likes to torment me!" I looked back at Toothless, and he literally shrugged, the expression on his face clearly not sorry for whatever he just said to Jack.

"Tormenting you or not, it gives you no reason to speak about him like that." I said indignantly. Jack huffed and I laughed. "You see, this is what you get when you prank someone: no support."

"Where's your Halloween spirit?" Jack muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

"On the floor." I said, then I slapped my forehead suddenly. "Xavier, I just thought of something!"

"What?" He asked.

"Since its Halloween, you could totally just go around all day without guarding your looks. Everyone would think that you just charmed your hair or something to get in the spirit of the season or something." I said. Xavier eyes were bright in an instant, a smile flashing across his face.

"You're right!" Xavier said. "God, Hiccup, you're a genius!"

"I know." I said. I slipped on my socks and shoes and stood up. "You're welcome."

"Oh, so you help him out and not me?" Jack asked. "Rude. I think you just killed my soul."

"Didn't know you had one." I said with a smirk.

"Oooh, burn." Xavier said. "I'm going to head down to the Hall and save you guys some seats. Bye." He walked out, a more-dorky-than-usual smile across his face, and his hair was almost red.

So, it was just me and Jack, and he was pouting at me.

"Really?" I asked. I got no response. "Fine. Toothless?" I said, making the cat look at me. "Stop tormenting Jack. You know he doesn't appreciate it." Toothless made a really weird sound that came from the back of his throat before rolling his eyes and hopping onto my bed. I looked back at Jack, who raised his eyebrows at me. "Happy?" I asked.

"No." Jack said moodily. He took a couple steps forward, and before I knew it, he wrapped his arms around me, pinning my arms to my sides. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you would react like that. It was supposed to be a prank, honest!" Jack said frantically. He moved suddenly, holding me at arm's length away and looking at me with his blue eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" I said, my voice cracking at the last word because I started to laugh. He was acting like a worried mother right now, and it was extremely funny and… kind of adorable, really. "You're making a really big deal about this."

"What about your head?" Jack said, stepping a bit closer and placing a hand on the back of my head. His fingers worked through my hair to feel the bump that was starting to form on my head. "Oh my god, I really am sorry."

I closed my eyes and bit my lip before pushing his hand away and forcing myself to laugh. "Its fine, Jack." I said firmly. "I'm not mad."

"You should be!" He protested. "I just gave you a freaking Easter egg on the back of your head!"

"And you should have been mad when I dropped you in Defense." I insisted.

"Don't go bringing that up. I'm fine now. And that was an accident!" Jack said.

"It's practically the same thing." I said. "And I'm telling you its fine, alright?" Jack just nodded. "But seriously, a prank on Halloween?" I said, raising my eyebrows. Jack laughed at my expression.

"Yeah… I woke up early and decided, 'why not?'" He said, shrugging theatrically. "And it really didn't take all that much to do, but I accidentally froze the entire room _and_ forgot my wand on my bed so, that's when Xavier helped me." He rubbed the back of his neck and I smacked my forehead.

"You are such a dork." I sighed.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm your dork, so deal with it." Jack remarked. "Now let's get going before all the good stuff is gone." He started walking out and I beckoned Toothless to come with, because he needed to eat too, duh.

"Hey, you think North is going to hide candy around the castle like he did last year?" I asked, looking around the common room and then the nearly-empty hallways as we walked past.

"I forgot about that!" Jack said. "I hope he does! That was awesome!"

In the Halloween spirit, North proposed a treat; instead of trick-or-treating like Muggles, North proposed that there would be this really huge Scavenger Hunt type thing all around the castle. The candies were hidden very cleverly, but they were always worth it because they were the best from Honeyduke's. Jack had the biggest sugar high known to mankind because he spent basically all his time after class looking for all of them. He found twenty, and if you don't think that's enough to have a sugar rush, you apparently haven't had any sweets from Honeyduke's.

"I guess he is." I said, spotting a brightly wrapped candy in a crevice in the wall. I pulled it out and shoved it in my pocket for later. "Score one for me!"

"Oh, the game's on now, Haddock!" Jack said, so excited that he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. His movements were somewhat restricted with his shoes, but you could feel his pent-up energy radiating off of him.

We walked into the Great Hall, to find Lauren and Xavier talking, their heads bent and their hands moving wildly as they spoke. Their voices were hushed, so they obviously didn't want anyone to know what they were saying.

"Are you sure?" Xavier asked, quietly.

"Absolutely." Lauren said. Jack and I sat down across from them.

"Absolutely sure about what?" Jack asked, a smirk on his face.

"Nothing." Xavier dismissed.

"Morning!" Lauren chirped. "Happy Halloween! Here!" She said, thrusting us each a handful of colorful candies from across the table. "I found these earlier this morning on my way here. North is doing that scavenger thingy again, you know?" She said happily.

"Thanks!" I said. "But… don't you horde Honeyduke's sweets and then send them to your little brothers?" Her face fell slightly before she put her smile back on.

"I've already found enough to send them, plus my mom told me to cut back." She said, chuckling. "But you guys can go ahead and eat them, if you'd like."

"Don't mind if I do!" Jack said, opening one and popping it into his mouth. "Nothing like some candy for breakfast!" He said, smiling. I laughed, and shoved my share into my pocket.

"I'll save mine for later like a normal person, thank you." I said.

"Um…" Lauren said. "You should probably eat those now." She said, biting her knuckle slightly. I gave her a weird look. "Well, you know how Professor Tooth gets when she finds candy in her classroom! I don't want you guys to have to write an essay about tooth enamel and why it's important to floss or whatever."

"Good point." I said, nodding. I pulled one out and ate it. The exaggerated sugariness of it was what hit me first. I blinked a bit before coming back to reality. Toothless pawed at my sleeve, and I smacked myself in the forehead. "Oh, sorry Toothless." I said, reaching for a plate of smoked fish that I knew was supposed to be somewhere…

"Here, I got it!" Jack said enthusiastically. "Look at me, being all helpful and everything. I'm so nice." He remarked, handing me the plate with an air of self-appreciation.

"Thanks, Jack." I said. I set the plate down underneath the table for Toothless, who attacked it immediately. "It's nice of me to be taking care of Toothless, you know? Most people just let the elves take care of their pets, but I do things myself. I love that."

_Whoa, where did that come from?_

"That is nice of you." Jack commented. "Whoa, does anyone else think the sound of my voice is totally amazing? I could be on Broadway or something." Jack started singing some random notes. "Man, I sound awesome! I love my voice!"

"You switched them up!" Xavier said, groaning.

"Well, you distracted me!" Lauren argued. I didn't know what they were talking about, but all I could think about was how well I tied my tie this morning. That was a feat in itself, but I guess I did it really perfectly. I sighed, contentedly. "How in the heck are we supposed to fix this?" She asked.

"Madame Pomfrey?" Xavier asked.

"She'd kill us! Love potions are banned from Hogwarts!" Lauren remarked. _What were they talking about?_

"Come on guys, forget it. You aren't making any sense." I remarked. "We should start heading to class. Oh, I'm amazing, stopping you two from fighting and whatever." The smile on my face was overly-dorky, I knew, but I realized I didn't care. I love that about me too!

"Hic… just… shut up for a minute, okay?" Xavier said, pointing at him before turning back to Lauren. "Well, we can't let them roam around while they're _in love with themselves_!"

"You guys, seriously, we're going to be late." Jack said, standing up. "I'm so responsible." He said as an afterthought, almost dreamily. Just then, the bells rang.

"There's no time to take them!" Lauren complained. "Could you… babysit them long enough until you're guy's break period to take them to the Hospital Wing?" She and Xavier stood up, shouldering their bags.

"I guess so." Xavier remarked, shrugging. "But you'll have to owe me."

"Whatever." Lauren remarked. "I've got to run, but I'll meet you in the Wing at lunch!"

"Come on you two," Xavier muttered. "We need to get to class." Toothless meowed lightly, butting up against the bright-haired boy before running off.

"What have we been trying to tell you for about three minutes now?" Jack remarked, laughing a little. Xavier just groaned and marched off. We followed him to Transfiguration, where Tooth was waiting with a still-unoccupied classroom.

"Hello, boys!" she said, happily.

"Good morning!" I said. Xavier echoed me.

"Hey, Professor." Jack greeted with a wide, bright smile. Tooth squealed, and flew over to him, her colorful feathers puffing out and fanning above her head.

"Jack! You're teeth are amazing!" Tooth said, gently prying his mouth open and probing at his teeth.

"Ah know! Ah 'ove 'at abou' 'e!" Jack said, his mouth still open and not fighting as Tooth continued to inspect his pearly whites.

"Professor…" Xavier whined. Tooth snapped out of whatever stupor she was in and landed onto the ground. Jack closed his mouth, smacking his lips slightly as another smile graced his features.

"Oops, sorry Jack." Tooth said sheepishly. "Your teeth are just so perfect-!"

"It's alright, Professor!" Jack said cheerily. "I forgive you. That's another thing I love about me, I always forgive people!"

"O-okay…?" Tooth said, watching him walk to his seat next to me.

"Gods, this is going to be a _long_ day…" Xavier muttered, burying his face into his arms.

The classroom filled a couple minutes before the bell rang. When it did, Tooth jumped right into the lesson. Most people were too tired to keep up with the obviously excited chatter as Professor Toothania started teaching the incantation to transform teeth into Galleons, but I paid rapt attention. I loved that about me.

* * *

**Lauren's POV**

I was out of my classroom as soon as the bell rang. Everyone looked at me kind of weird, but as the corridors flooded with people I dodged them all with ease. I brushed my hair over my shoulders as I looked up the moving staircases.

Welp. Gotta get up there somehow.

I hopped up the first staircase, taking the steps two at a time. Then I jumped onto the second one adjoining it right as it started to move. I climbed up that one, too, and kept on moving.

Okay, yes, this all could have gone a whole lot better. There was no way that it could have gotten worse, though, right? No, no… it could have been a lot worse… but this was not my fault!

Bottom line was that now probably all four of us were going to be in really big trouble with Madame Pomfrey, Professor Black, and Headmaster North. Yikes. I really should have thought this through a little bit more.

I spotted a piece of Honeyduke's sweets and I swooped down to pick it up, shoving it into my cloak's pocket before readjusting my bag and walking quicker. There was no way I was letting Xavier handle those two dorks by himself longer than he had to.

Crap, how are we going to explain this to them when the love potions are negated? Oh my gosh, this was not going to be good. I should have planned this out better. I should have color-coded their candy for crying out freaking loud!

I rounded the corner, finding the Hospital Wing was at the end of the corridor. I sighed, almost scared, and I started to sprint towards the large wooden doors. The suits of armor followed my movements diligently as I ran past, and as creepy as it was, I ignored them. I was a girl on a mission.

With as much strength as I could muster, I pushed one of the great doors open, slipping through the little opening and looking around.

"Miss Cannonblast, the doors were closed for a reason." I heard Madame Pomfrey chastise lightly, but I was too bust scanning the ward for Xavier. A tuft of strawberry red hair tipped me off and a relieved smile came across my face.

"Sorry, Madame Pomfrey." I said, shutting the door harshly and running towards Xavier. "Hey, am I late?" I asked, placing a hand onto his shoulder. I looked at the two beds that were in front of him and blinked. Then I smiled.

Hiccup and Jack were in separate beds, as required, but they were each holding something; a small mirror was in each of their hands, and they were each staring intently at their reflections. Hiccup was making faces at his reflection, and then he laughed about it later. Jack, on the other hand, was looking at his face from every angle, a charming smile gracing his lips.

I gave Xavier a look, and I knew we were on the same page. This was too hysterical.

"Oi. If you two are done here, please leave." Madame Pomfrey said. "I don't need giggling buffoons in my Wing."

"Sorry, Madame Pomfrey." Xavier muttered, stepping out of the way and pushing me back along with him. "You need to give us a chance to explain-" He started, but he was easily cut off by the Healer.

"You can wait on your explanation." She said. "There are other pressing matters I need to tend to." She seemed incredibly irritated, and I couldn't blame her. Just then, she pulled a vial out of her apron and pulled off its stopper. She split the vial into two small goblets and gave Hiccup and Jack their own. "Drink up, loves." She said kindly.

"What is it?" Hiccup said, taking it. Jack took his and looked at it weirdly, still looking at himself in his mirror.

"Something to make you look even better." Madame Pomfrey whispered.

"Well, I don't need it," Jack said, shrugging, "but I'll take it anyways."

At the same time, the two of them knocked their goblets back, drinking the potion in one go. I guess they were really eager to look even better than they already did. When they resurfaced, their eyes, one set a deep green, the other a dazzling blue, were slightly hazy and their expressions were dazed. They blinked a couple times, and then it seemed like the whole world refocused. They both dropped their mirrors onto their beds.

"What just happened?" They spoke at the same time, and then they looked at each other, confused.

"Love potions." Madame Pomfrey stated. Then, she looked at Xavier and me. "You two. My office. Now."

We gulped simultaneously, but followed her into her office. The room was small and circular, shelves stacked high with ingredients, potions, and books lining the walls. Her small desk was in the center, with two chairs in front of it. She didn't even let us sit down.

"This is the second time I have seen the four of you in my Wing this year, and it isn't even second term!" She scolded. "How you got your hands on a love potion is beyond me!"

"Can we explain?" Xavier said, cringing.

"You better!" She said. Xavier took a deep breath, and I knew, somehow, that he was going to take the blame. I couldn't let him do that. I cut in before he could say anything more.

"This was my fault, Madame Pomfrey." I confessed. "This was all my idea. I did this."

"Cannonblast." She chastised. "Why would you do this? You _know_-"

"Yes, I know how dangerous love potions can be. But as you can see, these are very low-graded potions." I pointed out. That wasn't an explanation, though, so I kept on talking. "I just wanted to help them out. I'm sure you've seen them two, and know about it already. I… I thought that I could… speed up the process a bit, maybe get them together? But I messed up, and it backfired. I only asked Xavier to help me watch them because there wasn't time to take them to the Wing."

"I understand that you only wanted to help them, but this was not the way to go. Did you brew it, or did you steal it from Professor Black's store?" She asked critically.

"I brewed it, Professor." I answered. "But I did take some ingredients from his store."

"He will have to be informed, then." Madame Pomfrey said. "But, I would have to say, this was an impressive feat of brewing you have here. Just enough potency for an infatuation, but just enough so that it wouldn't be that easily noticeable."

"Well, I sort of figured that they didn't need a potion that strong, since the feelings were already there…" I said. I glanced at Xavier, and his mouth was hanging open slightly.

"It was impressive, indeed." Pomfrey said. "But Professor Black will be informed and your punishment will be decided by him. Xavier, you are dismissed." She said.

"B-but…" Xavier protested. Pomfrey gave him a hard look. "Alright." He sighed, walking out and most likely heading back to Hiccup and Jack.

"So, you were trying to help them?" She asked me with a wry smile.

"Yes." I replied. "They are painfully oblivious about the situation in general, and they need a little extra push."

"This was an interesting way to give them that push. Diabolical, really. It's a shame that it didn't work out the way you planned." She said, a smile on her face. I bowed my head and looked up at her, almost innocently. "Promise me that you'll never steal, or brew a potentially dangerous potion without supervision again." She said.

"I promise." I said.

"And you better mean it." She said seriously. I smiled a bit, and nodded earnestly. "Good. Your friends are free to go. They might feel slightly confused for about 24 hours, but that's per the norm. Keep an eye on them."

"I will, Professor." I said, walking out.

"Cannonblast?" She asked as I reached the door. I froze, and looked at her. "Do keep trying to get them together. They deserve to be happy."

"Will do, Madame." I said, smiling widely and slipping out of her office.

**. . .**

"Seriously, X, what happened?" Jack asked, almost frantic.

"This is really confusing. Why are we here? I feel fine." Hiccup said.

"Hey." I said, reaching them.

"What's the verdict?" Xavier asked, stepping towards me.

"I might be in a shitload of trouble with Pitch, but besides that, those two are free to go." I said, jerking my thumb in Hiccup and Jack's directions. Jack slipped out of his bed and stood up, wobbling a bit but he was on his feet. Hiccup just stayed put, looking at me.

"Why would you be in trouble? Is anyone going to tell us what happened?" Hiccup asked. He got out of his bed rather clumsily after he said that, stumbling as he got to his feet.

"I didn't see the labels and I accidentally gave you guys some prank candy from Honeyduke's." I lied easily. "It's rare now, but those types of candies make you fall in love with yourself."

"Wow, Honeyduke's is getting really crazy, aren't they?" Jack asked. "Let's just get out of here. I hate this place." We left, walking down the hallways and heading towards the Great Hall. There was still a couple minutes left for the lunch hour, and that was enough to grab something to eat before the next class… something I didn't have. We each grabbed a little something, either a sandwich or something a little heavier, and shoved it down our throats as the bell rang.

"Welp, see you guys after classes!" I said, waving. Xavier gave me a concerned look before leaving with Hiccup and Jack, jumping in on their conversation about the gigantic Jack-o-lanterns in the Hall and how Jack could fit in one. I laughed before heading back to my common room, ready to get some work done.

I settled down on my bed, thankful that my other roommates were off doing something else, as I pulled out some parchment and started the heading for an essay.

An owl screeching right in my ear made me jump, scratching my quill along my parchment and leaving a gouge in it. _Well, there goes my essay_… I thought as I whipped around to find the owl.

It was a magnificently solid black owl, with golden eyes, regarding me. It flapped its wings at me, almost irritated, and hooted indignantly. I saw the envelope tied to its foot, and I snatched for it, the owl trying to nip my hand with its razor-sharp beak.

The letter was a deep red and square-ish in shape. I gulped, happy that I was the only one here. Because this wasn't a letter, it was a Howler.

I ripped it open, eager to get this over with. Once the seal was broken, the letter folded itself into a mouth, which was scowling.

"Cannonblast. My classroom this instant!" Pitch's voice rang out, clear and nerve-wracking. The letter ripped itself into a million pieces, I knew, but I didn't watch them fall onto my bed haphazardly. I threw everything I could into my bag and ran out, heading to Pitch's class.

He was pissed, and there was no use to give him another reason to be mad.

**. . .**

I knocked on the door nervously, and in no time flat, it was thrown open and Pitch stepped out of it, still halfway through barking orders at his students. He didn't even bother slamming the door as he approached me. I trembled.

"What do you think you were doing, going into my private store without permission, and taking what you please?" He said, his voice exceptionally calm, but I looked up at him, struggling to keep my bottom lip from quivering. I could feel his rage underneath his words.

"P-Professor, I-" I started to say when he cut me off.

"No, tell me, I really am _dying_ to know." Pitch said. I gulped. "You seem to be constantly under the impression that you can do anything you want."

"No, I'm not. I was just too much in a hurry to ask." I countered._ I should not have said that_.

"Oh, no? You're doing it right now!" He gestured at the two of us. "You need to learn how to shut your mouth and take your punishment."

"Maybe you need to learn how to stop listening to yourself and hear someone out." I said. _I should not have said that. Again. What is wrong with me? Just shut up!_ Pitch raised his hand and I cringed, almost expecting a blow.

"You're afraid that I'm going to hurt you, Cannonblast." Pitch said, softly. "But, mostly, you're afraid you're going to let everyone down, that no one will accept you for the failing mess that you are."

"No!" I yelled. "You don't know anything!"

"Fifty points from Hufflepuff!" He said, turning away from me, his cloak swirling around him. "You will be spending every day after class, for two weeks, working off what you've stolen."

"I was going to pay you back!" I said. "I know what I took, and how much it cost! I was going to give it back and apologize!"

"Another fifty points!" Pitch said, whipping around and facing me again. "For your empty lies. Now get out of my presence. I can't even look at you." He said, heading back to his classroom.

"Lauren!" I heard Xavier yell from inside.

"Silencio!" Pitch said tersely, waving his wand and silencing him. That was all I saw until the door slammed closed.

* * *

**STATUS: FAIL**

**(Pomfrey and Pitch are so OOC... *sobs*)**

**Thanks for putting up with me guys! I really love you all, even if I say that a lot! Please Review!**

**-HB**


	10. Chapter 9: Life Got Confusing

**This continues immediately after the previous chapter. **

**(NOTE: one of the symptoms of the antidote of the love potion is confusion, hence this... _mess_.)**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Life Got Confusing

"What just happened?" Jack asked, standing up and looking for his wand in his pockets. It was a good thing Hiccup snatched it out of his pocket and hid it before he noticed. "What did you do to my friend?"

"I did absolutely nothing to her, Frost. Now take your seat before I start taking away House points." Pitch said.

"No, what's going on?" Jack insisted. "Why did you have to call her in the middle of class? Was it really that important?"

"Ten points from Gryffindor." Pitch said calmly. "If you don't want any more taken away, I would suggest that you would take your seat." Jack glared for a moment before slowly sitting back down in his chair. "What are you all staring at? Get to work!" Pitch barked. The classroom was in a flurry once more, scribbling the instruction on the chalkboard onto a piece of parchment.

"Someone mind telling me what happened, there?" Hiccup asked in a hushed whisper.

"Lauren got in trouble, duh." Jack said. "All I want to know is... why?" The two of them both looked at Xavier.

"After class, okay?" He hissed at the other two. "Not here."

They spent the rest of the miserable hour under the watchful eye of Pitch, his golden eyes scanning over all of them and making sure they were continuing to scribble down the important notes that they were lucky enough that he was giving them. When the bell rang, Pitch was still too pissed and scandalized to even bark their homework at them, so they got off easy. The three boys walked down the halls, crowded in by what seemed like thousands of students. Jack and Hiccup were basically sandwiched together, Jack's arm hooked around Hiccup's and his fingertips resting on the back of his hand.

Xavier noticed that, and Hiccup's deep blush, and kept as far away from them as possible.

"X!" Jack shouted over the din. "Tell us!"

"There's going to be rumors flying everywhere, you might as well tell us the truth." Hiccups said. Xavier huffed and looked at the two of them, his eyes a familiar hazel. Jack slowly pieced together that they were the exact shade of Lauren's eyes.

"All I'm telling you right now is that she did something she probably shouldn't have done, and it got fucked up in the process." Xavier said bluntly. "And now she's in trouble for it." He blinked, and his eyes turned back to their deep brown. "Anyways, Bunnymund'll rip us a new one if we're not on time." With that in mind, the three pushed their way through the crowd and headed towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. All the while, Jack still had his arm around Hiccup's.

Xavier rolled his eyes at how stupid they were.

* * *

***time lapse***

* * *

"Wait… what?" Jack asked, pointing at Xavier. They were now in the Gryffindor common room, classes done with for about an hour now, and Xavier finally told them what had happened, temporarily postponing their impromptu study session. "What would Lauren want with a love potion?"

"Don't ask me." Xavier answered, a bit too quick for Hiccup's liking. "Anyways, she needed more ingredients, and apparently stole from Pitch's store."

"She didn't." Hiccup gasped, his green eyes wide. "Everyone knows not to-"

"Yeah, but you know how Lauren gets when she wants something done." Jack pointed out.

"Very true." Hiccup said, dropping that notion and nodding. "And now she's probably going to be put through hell and back in those detentions with Pitch." He muttered lightly, glancing at Xavier. He just huffed and looked away, clearly annoyed, but with what no one was sure.

"Pitch wouldn't dare touch a hair on her head." Jack said fiercely.

"Yeah, well, there's no way of knowing." Xavier said, scooping up his things and stuffing them into his bag before throwing it over his shoulder. "I'm going to wait for her. Don't wait up for me." He said.

"Xavier-" Hiccup said, standing up and taking a step towards him.

"No." He said. "I'm doing it." He disappeared behind the Portrait, its frame slamming harshly when it closed. The Fat Lady screamed in pain and protest.

"And then there was two." Jack said, slouching on the couch that he was currently sharing with Hiccup. "Do you feel like we're missing something?" He asked suddenly, looking up at the high ceiling above them.

"Something important, you mean?" Hiccup asked, and then he sighed. "Yeah…" Something wasn't right. Lauren hasn't gotten in trouble once in all her time at Hogwarts, why was she starting now? And stealing from Pitch's store?! Was she trying to get herself killed? Why did she need a love potion anyways?

"Yeah, I feel you." Jack muttered.

"Whoa, did I say all that aloud?" Hiccup asked, looking at Jack with a worried expression.

"Pretty much." Jack said, shrugging. "I'm just as confused as you are."

"Good." Hiccup said, slouching back on the couch like Jack. "We can be confused together." He rested his head back, not knowing that Jack's arm was already there.

Jack flushed at the comment, glad that Hiccup wasn't paying attention to him at all. He knew he wasn't using the words in _that_ sort of context, but it brought a warm tingling feeling into the pit of his stomach anyways.

"No." Jack said, bringing his hand over and rubbing Hiccup's face. He could feel him scowl before Hiccup's flailed and batted him off wildly.

"What was that for?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing." Jack said. Hiccup tilted his head and looked at him with a confused expression, and it was all Jack could do to stop himself from closing the gap between their lips and kissing him.

"Then what are you going to do?" Hiccup asked, folding his arms across his chest. Jack popped up off the couch and threw his back over his shoulder.

"No idea yet." He said, excitedly. "But it's going to be something." Jack ran up the stairs, and looked down at Hiccup over the railing. "Well, are you coming?"

Hiccup smiled, grabbed his backpack, and ran up the stairs after Jack, who was already in their room, stripping himself of is uniform. Hiccup stopped at the door and licked his lips, taking in the view of Jack shirtless and wandering around their room for his hoodie. He forced himself to move.

"Where is it…?" Jack asked, getting on his hands and knees and looking under his bed.

"You're a wizard. Are you going to act like it or not?" Hiccup remarked, getting a glare in response. "Here," Hiccup said, grabbing Jack's hoodie off his bed and throwing it at him.

"Why was it on your bed?" Jack asked, pulling it over his head.

"Beats me." Hiccup said, shrugging. And that was the truth.

"_Damn cat_…" Jack muttered in Toothless' direction, who was sitting on the windowsill.

"What was that?" Hiccup asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Toothless moved it." Jack muttered. "Great, now it's going to smell like cat hair and dragon saliva." Hiccup laughed as he pulled on some comfortable clothes and his boots. Jack changed his pants, opting out for his brown pants that were tattered near his ankles. He shrugged his hoodie on, without bothering with a shirt or shoes for that matter. "Well, you ready?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"Where are we going?" Hiccup asked.

"No. Idea." Jack said. "Come on." Then he ran downstairs, passing a gaggle of first-years as he did so and scaring them senseless at the same time. Hiccup laughed, apologizing for Jack, and ran to catch up with his mischievous friend. Toothless ran after them.

"You know, I think this is stupid." Hiccup said, finally catching Jack and gasping for air for a second before his breathing went back to normal.

"Then why don't you go do something else?" Jack asked, nonchalantly flicking Hiccup's bangs out of his eyes. Hiccup rolled his eyes and let his hair do whatever it wanted to.

"Because you'll probably destroy half the castle if someone isn't watching you." Hiccup pointed out. Jack pouted, while Toothless flicked his tail and gave a look at Jack. The white-haired boy aimed a kick at the cat, but Toothless dodged it skillfully, latching onto his other leg instead and clinging for dear life.

"Get him off of me." Jack said, plainly, giving Hiccup a deadpanned expression. Hiccup laughed as he bent down and plucked Toothless off of Jack's leg, careful to not let the cat-dragon scratch him.

"And I would not destroy half the castle!" Jack said indignantly. "It would most likely be a quarter or a fifth of the castle, okay? Do you see how big this place is?" He said, throwing his hands out to his sides and turning around in a gigantic circle.

"Yeah, I do." Hiccup said. "You could do that much damage, one way or another."

"Oh come on, give me the benefit of the doubt." Jack joked. "I would at least destroy Pitch's classroom if I had the choice. Maybe not even that, because I don't want him looming over my every move, plotting my death if that happens." Hiccup laughed loudly, some people looking over at the two, but they didn't care.

The two found themselves walking over by the Greenhouses, where they had to stop because Toothless found a patch of dragon nip and decided to lose himself in it. So they sat down and watched Toothless roll around happily. They were silent for a while.

"Jack?" Hiccup asked.

"What?"

"I just…" the auburn-haired teen said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Never mind." He said quickly, ditching his attempt at telling him. "I didn't say anything." Jack scoffed, then shoved his shoulder.

"Come on!" Jack said. "You can't tease me like that! What were you going to say?" Hiccup sighed, knowing he couldn't get out of it. Toothless felt his apprehension rolling off of him in waves, and looking up from his temporary bliss in the dragon nip.

"I was going to ask…" Hiccup said, about to actually say what was on his mind when he backed out, again, lying easily. "What do you think Lauren stole that got her in so much trouble?"

"Geez, I don't know." Jack said, shooting Hiccup a look that so obviously said, _'That wasn't what you were going to say, you asshole.'_

"Just think of it, though." Hiccup said, laying back onto the ground. "What would really be that valuable to Pitch that would possibly make him that mad to lose? I mean, seriously!"

"Yeah, but then again, this is Pitch we're talking about." Jack pointed out, looking down at Hiccup. "And you know how he is with his private stock of poisons and concoctions and other miscellaneous shit he might have in there." He laughed. "He probably has a jar of pickled frog heads or something. And he calls them his only friends because he's lonely."

"That's… just disturbing." Hiccup said, shuddering.

"But totally believable!" Jack said, lying back and throwing his arm out, hitting Hiccup lightly in the face. He winced.

"Jack. Get your hand off my face," Hiccup muttered, his voice muffled by Jack's hand.

"What if I don't want to?" Jack asked.

"I'm going to lick you." Hiccup threatened.

"Bite me, Viking boy." Jack said. He really didn't think that Hiccup would take up his offer, though. With a twist of his head, Hiccup bit Jack's hand on the space between his index finger and his thumb. "Ow!" Jack exclaimed, pulling his hand away and rubbing the spot.

"You asked for it!" Hiccup said, laughing.

"You're an ass." Jack pouted, holding his hand away from Hiccup and scooting away from him.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not a donkey, thank you." Hiccup said sarcastically. Jack laughed loudly at how serious his voice sounded at that moment.

"I'm sure you not." Jack said. "You're way too adorable to be a donkey," he said, sitting up. _Why did he just say that?_ Hiccup turned a bright red, his green eyes wide when the comment escaped Jack's lips.

"Um… thanks, I guess?" Hiccup said. "At least I think that's a compliment, assuming that you called me better-looking than a donkey." Jack laughed again, and Toothless rolled his eyes at the two.

"How did we even get on this again?" Jack asked, standing up.

"I have no idea." Hiccup said. "I think someone said something about an ass?" He said, confused. It was like he had short-term memory loss or something. Quickly, Hiccup leaned forward and plucked a couple blades of dragon nip from the ground. He shoved it into his pocket securely.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you started it, though." Jack said, sticking out his left hand. Hiccup took it with his right, and Jack helped him get to his feet.

"Thanks," Hiccup muttered. "But I don't always start things." He pointed out. "You get us in trouble a lot more than I do." Jack scoffed at that.

"That is only because the professors know to look out for me, not for little goody-two-shoes Viking Man over here." Jack said, nudging my shoulder. "They obviously don't know that looks can be misleading. Because you're just as capable of planning and pulling a master prank as I am."

"I am, huh?" Hiccup asked. "Name one time!"

"That one time in third year with the maple syrup and the hippogriff feathers." Jack said blandly. "And that was the cruelest one!"

"It's not my fault she wasn't taking all your hints!" Hiccup said.

"So you feel the need to cover her with a syrup and throw feathers onto her?!" Jack asked, laughing. "Seriously though, why did you do that?"

"Jack." Hiccup said. "You were flat-out telling her that you weren't interested, and she still came by every day, flaunting herself right in front of you. She was being cocky." He added with a small smile. Jack nearly fell to the ground from laughter.

"And… and… ooh, man that was a good one." Jack said, wiping a single tear from his eye. "I… I see what you did there. She was cocky, so you made her into a chicken. Funny."

"It's not funny when you have to explain it." Hiccup shot back. "And it really took you two years to figure that one out? Really?!"

"Sorry, I didn't notice!" Jack said, still chuckling slightly. "Now that makes that even more diabolical! Frecks, are you sure you aren't going to be a serial killer later on in life? Because if you can prank this good now, I'm sure you could plan out some really crazy deaths."

"W-w-why are you even thinking about death?" Hiccup asked. "That's just weird. And no, I'm not going to be a serial killer. That's even more weird."

People were starting to stare at them, but then again, they were talking about death really loudly, so that made a little bit of sense. Hiccup and Jack found themselves wandering the halls, just talking about nothing and everything, while Toothless trailed behind him, teasing Jack every now and then.

* * *

Xavier, with Lauren in tow, happened to turn the corner to see Hiccup and Jack halfway down the hall, talking wildly and laughing… _and holding hands_. Lauren dropped her gloom in an instant, and clutched Xavier's arm tightly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Ohmigosh! Ohmigosh! Ohmigosh!" She whispered. Xavier got her off his arm and put both hands on her shoulders. He leaned forward, so their faces were inches apart.

"Calm. Down." Xavier said, a smile on his face.

"But-but-but-!" Lauren said, stuttering and pointing behind Xavier at their two friends. "Look at them!" She whispered.

"Yeah, I saw." Xavier replied gently.

"Should… should we go say something or…?" Lauren started to say when Hiccup turned around and noticed them.

"Hey guys!" He said, tugging Jack around to see them.

It was then, and only then, did they realize that Jack never did let go of Hiccup's hand after he helped him up. That explained why people were staring at them… and most of Toothless' comments, actually. Hiccup felt like ramming himself into one of the solid marble walls that surrounded them. Jack, on the other hand, threatened to beat his forehead with the palm of his hand until it was permanently red. Toothless snorted and rolled his acid green eyes at the two of them.

"Hey!" Xavier said, panicking and shoving Lauren away from him, and she stumbled back a couple steps.

"Hi, you two." Lauren said, clearing her throat.

"How was detention with the Warden?" Jack asked. "Was it every bit as terrible as the screaming match you two were in?"

"Actually, not really." Lauren said. "He just lectured me about responsibility and honor and about him being disappointed that a 'good student like me would stoop so low to gain acceptance' and forced me to correct all the essays due in the past month. Pfft." She said, waving it off as if it was nothing.

"In other words," Hiccup said, "Pitch was being his regularly creepy and demented self."

"Pretty much." Lauren said cheerfully. "So what were you guys up to?" She asked suggestively, and Xavier smacked his forehead. Hiccup visibly reddened and Jack's regular smile melted off his face.

"Nothing, really," Jack answered easily, shooting a brief glare in Xavier's direction. "We walked around for a bit and then Toothless found a patch of… Of… What was it, Freckles?"

"Dragon nip." Hiccup supplied, rolling his verdant eyes in Jack's direction. "So we stayed there and watched his stupidity for a while." Toothless meowed indignantly and wandered closer to Lauren and Xavier in protest.

"Oh nice." Xavier said. "Dinner's… probably going to start pretty soon. We should start heading over there." They all nodded in agreement and started walking to the Hall.

"Lauren, I've got a question." Jack said suddenly.

"Jack, I might possibly have an answer." She replied, giggling slightly.

"What did you do to get yourself detention in the first place?" the white-haired teen asked. "I mean, I know you stole from Pitch's store, but… why?" The curiosity in his voice was unadulterated.

"Well, to be honest. I was making a love potion." She said simply. "For, um… someone." She said, looking down at her shoes before glancing at Xavier with a blush on her face.

"Oooooh…" Hiccup said, realizing what she meant… or, at least, what he _thought_ she meant. He nudged Jack's arm with his elbow and the two smiled at each other.

"Wait, aren't those banned from Hogwarts?" Jack asked.

"Theoretically," Lauren said vaguely. "But people always manage to sneak some in one way or another, so it's not uncommon. I just had to brew it myself because… well, I don't trust anything else. Not for this, anyways."

"Interesting." Jack drawled, looking slyly at Hiccup, and the two of them shared identically stupid smiles.

"Oh my gosh I'm starving!" Xavier said, pointedly changing to subject. "Oh, look! The Great Hall!" He gestured to the huge wooden doors and smiled unusually wide. "Let's eat!" He exclaimed, grabbing Jack arm and pulling him the rest of the way. Lauren and Hiccup laughed at them.

"You, sir," Lauren chastised, poking his arm, "have a lot to tell me."

"So do you, _Mrs. Bloodstone_." Hiccup said, sneering playfully at her, earning him a slap on his arm.

* * *

**Well, that was... fluffy. **

**Thanks for reading and please review! I love you all!**

**-HB**


	11. Chapter 10: Never Let Go

**Here we go again guys. I hope you guys love this!**

**NOTE: *whispers* please don't kill me. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING IN LIFE. okay, with that established... let's read, shall we?**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Never Let Go

"So, how long has it been?" Lauren asked quietly as soon as we were in the Library. I looked at her, confused.

"Excuse me, what?" I asked, blinking. "How long has 'what' been?"

"You and Jack, of course." Lauren said simply. I stopped dead in my tracks, leaving Lauren to walk a couple steps in front of me before noticing I wasn't next to her. I guess my mouth was hanging open or something because Lauren laughed.

"What do you mean, 'me and Jack'?" I tried to clarify.

"How long have you been going out without telling me?" Lauren said, stepped towards me and taking my arm. I shrugged her off.

"We aren't going out." I muttered, readjusting my backpack and folding my arms in front of my chest. "Why would you even think that?!" I asked.

"Oh, please." She scoffed. "Xavier and I saw you guys walking through the halls and holding hands yesterday. We just sort of assumed…"

"Oh gods, you guys saw that?" I said. "Look… that was- that was an accident. He didn't- well, really, _I didn't_- I didn't mean for that to happen."

"It's fine." Lauren said. "Are you even planning on making a move on him one of these days?" She asked incredulously. "I mean, you obviously like him a lot, and who knows, he might just like you back and-" She was talking a million words a second, her hands moving wildly as she spoke. I smacked a hand onto her mouth, and looked her in the eyes.

"Calm down." I said.

"Well, I'm just asking a question." Lauren muttered, her voice muffled by my hand before she hastily moved it away from her mouth.

"Whatever, and the answer is no, by the way." I said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "I'm perfectly happy without risking our friendship, thank you."

"No you aren't." Lauren answered, sitting next to me. "I see the way you look at him. You just… you need to at least try!" The exasperation in her voice was shocking. "I mean, you can't just keep this all to yourself all the time. And you obviously aren't getting over him anytime soon. I say you should just take a chance, walk right up to him, and kiss him! What's the harm?"

"The harm?" I asked, looking at her. "The harm is that I could lose his friendship, or that he would hate me, or he would punch me in the face and never talk to me again. Oh, and may I mention the possibility of _all three_?"

"Oh, you're being overdramatic." Lauren scoffed.

"No, actually, I'm not." I said.

"Yes! You are!" Lauren said, almost forgetting they were in the Library. "I mean, you just need to have a little faith. Think on the bright side!"

"If I told you we already kissed, would that satisfy you enough to drop the subject?" I asked, throwing my hands in the air and dropping them back down on the table.

"No!" Lauren said. "I would just ask you a million questions! Are you serious right now?!"

"No, I'm lying." I said sarcastically. "It wasn't really… a kiss, per se…" How was I going to explain this?

"Tell me." Lauren said, turning towards me and propping her head up with her arm, her hazel eyes locked onto me and a smile on her lips.

"Well, we went to this place in the… um, in the Forbidden Forest-"

"Whoa, you've been into the Forest?" Lauren asked. "Without getting caught? Dang! I steal some rose oil and get detention while you guys just sneak into the Forest like it's nothing?!"

"Yes, now shut up and let me tell the story." I said. "Anyways, we were there at this place with a lake. We were talking a bit before he froze the lake and took me ice skating. And then we accidentally fell and… our lips sort of banged together. If you could call that a kiss…" I scoffed at the end. I couldn't even think about that without getting embarrassed or pleased, and sometimes a mixture of both.

"How long ago was it?" Lauren asked curiously.

"Ah, about a month ago, now? Maybe?" I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "It was an accident so… I don't think it technically counts, right?"

"Oh, no, it definitely counts." Lauren said, smiling.

"Whatever." I scoffed. "Anyways, what's up with you and X?" I asked quickly. Lauren blushed.

"What?" She asked. "Pfft, nothing's up! I have no idea what you're…"

"Lauren, please." I said. "When you said you made a love potion, you looked directly at Xavier. You meant to drug him, huh?" The expression on her face was priceless.

"Drug him?" She asked. "That sounds like I'm giving him poison and feeding his body to the Kraken!"

"But you do like him, don't you?" I asked gently.

"I… I don't know." Lauren said, looking lost for a second before slapping my arm. "Don't ask me these sort of stupid questions!" She said.

"Well, you don't ask me, I won't ask you." I reasoned.

"Never." Lauren said. Then, after a second: "I guess I do like him." She whispered.

"I knew it!"

"SHHH!"

"Geez…" I said. "But I knew it! Aw, look at you, you're blushing!" I teased, poking her cheek before she shoved me away.

"Stop, you dork." She said. "We need to do homework anyways. And I've got to go soon. Pitch's essays won't grade themselves and he's only giving me an hour to work on homework."

"Well, that's a bummer." I pouted, as both of us settled into silence and did our homework.

When everything was pretty much finished, we packed away our things and walked out. I decided to walk her to Pitch's classroom, because why not? The walk there was pretty quiet, with no one in the halls. Everyone was either outside enjoying the fall weather or doing their homework diligently. The hallways to Pitch's classroom was a lot colder than all the others, and we both shivered at the same time. Lauren looked at me.

"I guess I'll see you later, then?" She asked.

"Definitely." I said. She gave me a quick hug before opening the door and walking in.

"You're a minute late…" I heard Pitch drawl before the door closed.

I balled my hands into fists and forced myself not to barge right in there and help her grade those essays. I knew Pitch would just kick me out anyways, but I didn't want there alone. Not that Pitch would do anything remotely terrible to her, no, North made the professors take an Unbreakable Vow to never harm the students of Hogwarts. He couldn't do anything even if he tried. I just really didn't want here there alone. She probably didn't mind, she liked reading, after all.

I shuffled a bit, still making my mind up about either going into the classroom or heading to the common room. I grabbed the straps of my backpack and sighed. There was nothing I could do.

I walked down seemingly random halls, passing empty classroom after empty classroom. It was amazing on how many empty classrooms there. I thought about what it must have been like when every single one of these rooms were in use, each with a full class paying rapt attention… and then my thoughts took a sudden turn as I thought…

_Jack grabbing me by the arm and pulling me into one of the empty classrooms, pulling a chair over to the door and propping it under the doorknob. Then he was looking at me, and smiling._

_"What are you-?" I was stuttering, before Jack was closing the gap between us with a couple steps. He was slipping an arm around my waist and smiling at me, before he pulled me flush against him. And then he was kissing me. And I was kissing back…_

… **I REALLY NEED TO STOP THINKING LIKE THAT**!

Ugh, that was annoying. I smacked myself on the forehead and then tugged my hair for good measure. _Stop thinking about your best friend like that, Haddock, get a grip! _

"Hey Hiccup!" Xavier called. I whipped around to see him basically running towards me. He had Jack by the back of his cloak, almost choking him as he dragged him along.

"Drop the snowflake, X." I said, folding my arms. "He sorta needs oxygen to live." Xavier rolled his eyes and let go of Jack, who rubbed his neck and smacked Xavier in the back of the head. They sneered at each other.

"Thanks, Freckles." Jack said appreciatively. "So, where've you been?" He asked, slinging a hand over my shoulder. I laughed, trying not to think about the empty classrooms as I shrugged off his arm.

"Nowhere," I said. "I just dropped Lauren off at detention."

"Ha, it sounds funny when you say that." Xavier pointed out. "You know, Lauren having detention."

"Yes, Xavier," Jack mused, "because the only thing you heard in that entire sentence was 'Lauren' and 'detention.' Very good observation skills."

"Aw, shut it, Frost. You're just jealous." Xavier said, smiling smugly at him. Jack just glared back and crossed his arms.

"Please." He scoffed. "What's there to be jealous about?"

"Only the fact that I'm actually trying to make a move with my crush, while you're doing nothing." Xavier said, his eyes turning red briefly before reverting back to brown. I looked at Jack, and all his bravado was gone; his face was as red as a tomato, even redder, maybe, and his blue eyes were wide. He glanced at me, and he saw me looking, and he looked away quickly.

"What?" I said, acting shocked. "Does the infamous Jack Frost, the heart throb of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, have another crush?!" I faked a swoon.

"Shut up, Hiccup," Jack said, shoving me away and laughing. "You see? This is why I don't tell anything to you guys anymore!"

"It's because you're too busy kissing your pillow to talk." I said blandly, and Jack turned a deeper shade of red, if that was even possible.

"And come on," Xavier said, "you know that's a lie. You tell us everything."

"Then how come I wasn't informed he had a crush?" I said, slightly annoyed. I mean, we were friends after all, and Xavier was right, we told each other practically everything. I mean, he always told us about a week in advance before he made his move on a girl (that was only a week more of secretly brooding, mind you, but let's let that one slide).

"I didn't get around to it." Jack said shrugging.

"Anyways," I said. "Who's the 'lucky' gal this time?" I asked, air-quoting the word "lucky". Jack rolled his eyes, and Xavier laughed loudly.

"It doesn't matter." Jack said, shrugging. "We should probably head back to the common room, right?"

"Riiiight." Xavier said, dragging out the word and elbowing him in his arm. "Very masterful change of the subject." He teased. Jack scoffed.

"I am SO done with you people!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he walked away from the two of us. Frost curled underneath his feet with each step he took before melting. Xavier stared, and I just blinked at the little puddles of water Jack left behind.

"What the hell?!" Xavier said. "What are you _really_ not telling me?!" Jack laughed.

"I told you!" Jack teased, before looking down and seeing the ice patch that was slowly branching out from his feet. "Oh, shit…" I heard him curse, even if he was halfway down the hallway by now. Xavier ran over to him, carefully skirting the puddles so he wouldn't fall, and I rushed after him, not wanting to miss out of the yelling match that Xavier will probably create.

"You're insane!" Xavier yelled, shaking Jack's shoulders. "Man…" He said, sighing and letting him go. "We are such freaks." He laughed.

"What?" I asked, confused at his sudden change in behavior.

"Excuse me?" Jack said with an abundance of sass.

"We've got the dragon-riding nerd, the Metamorphagus dude, and then the guy who spits ice out of his hands and feet." Xavier explained, holding his head in his hand.

"I guess that's why they call us the Three Musketeers." I reasoned. "We're so crazy, we complement each other's craziness."

"Let's just get to the common room before I freeze this whole hallway." Jack said, gritting his teeth. He was probably trying to concentrate on not freezing anything.

"Come on." I said, clapping his shoulder and pulling him along. We made it to the common room successfully without anything seriously frozen, which was a good thing. I noticed that as long as I had my hand on his shoulder, the ice wasn't all that big of a problem. Which was weird, but I didn't question it. We got to the common room quick enough and Xavier shut the door.

"Right." He said. "So, is anyone going to tell me why you have ice radiating off your feet?" He asked, pointing at Jack, who shrugged.

"I have no idea, honestly." Jack said, putting his hands up in defense. "Just… watch." He said, kicking off his shoes and making his way to the window. He touched it slightly with his index finger, and ice spread across the window instantly. The ice swirled and grew and finally it spelled out one word:

"WHAT"

"That's…" Xavier said slowly. "That's freaky."

"I think it's because of your ice spells." I said. The both of them looked at me. "I mean, you've been working on the spells so much that they've practically become a part of you. So… the ice might just be channeling through your body now instead of your spells."

"In other words, it's magic." Jack said calmly. "So don't ask."

"If you don't want anyone to ask, you better control it." Xavier said, smiling. "Because half the castle encased in ice might bring up a couple questions."

"I'm not going to encase half the castle in ice, you dork." Jack said, sneering. "But imagine how cool this will be with pranks!"

"You already froze Bunnymund's tail." I said. "What about making Pitch slip in the middle of his lectures?" Xavier and Jack looked at each other, before looking at me, with grins spread across their faces.

"You're a genius, Freckles!" Jack said, ruffling my hair quickly and laughing like a lunatic.

"Okay, calm down." I said. "It was only a suggestion." Jack laughed again. "Are you going to explain about your newest crush, or do I have to ask Xavier?" I said, not helping the tone of bitterness in my voice. I knew Jack moved from girlfriend to girlfriend, and it hurt every time I saw him together with someone, but I want to know who this girl is; I can at least know who to shoot my glares at in advance when he finally does ask her out.

"I'm not telling you, and _neither is Xavier_." Jack said, gritting his teeth, and looking at Xavier. He raised his hands and took a step back.

"I'm out of this. You two are on your own." He said.

"Fine." I said, folding my arms across my chest. The subject could drop… for now. Besides, I'll just see whoever he likes in about a week, since he's going to ask her out pretty soon anyways. "Then, Jack, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked, suddenly remembering the conversation I had with Lauren.

"I'm not sure I like that tone in your voice…" Jack said warily. "Am I in trouble?"

"What are you? Five?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "No, you're not in trouble just… come on." I said, pulling him out of the common room by his collar.

"Okay, ditch me, that's fine." Xavier said as we walked out. "I have better things to do anyways…"

"Would you mind telling me what this is all about?" Jack asked. "I don't think pulling my shirt is necessary." I let go of his shirt and smiled at him. He smiled back. "Seriously, what's up?" We clambered out of the Portrait and walked down the hallway. "Hiccup…" Jack said, obviously impatient.

"You know that Xavier likes Lauren, right?" I asked, looking up at him. Jack just nodded. "This may not come as a shock to you, but I found out something today."

"And that would be…?" Jack prompted.

"Lauren likes him back." I said with a smirk.

"We should totally get them together." Jack said, laughing. I snorted.

"I'm sure they'll get together on their own." I said, shoving his shoulder, only for him to step closer and hip-check me.

"You're right. They can't be idiots for long." Jack said. "But that doesn't mean we can't make fun of them, right?" His voice was so childish, it was adorable, yet unbelievable to think that he was the one that said it.

"Yeah, I guess we can make fun of them… from time to time." I replied, smiling at him. I looked at his eyes in what seemed like forever, and I guess that was a bit of a mistake seeing how I got stuck there, staring. For a moment, all I could focus on was the clear and intricate blue that his eyes were… but then I snapped out of it. I blinked furiously, and looked down at my feet. It was silent for a while.

"Question." Jack said suddenly.

"Answer." I replied.

Jack paused, his mouth hanging open before he could get a word out. "Are you really that bothered by not knowing who I like?" He asked.

What do I say? '_I'm jealous of who you like'_? No, that's too obvious. And '_Hell yes, extremely bothered_' seems a bit too forward…

"Well, we tell each other everything, the three of us." I said, not looking up at my feet. "I guess it just hurts to know that you don't think you can trust me with that."

"It's not a matter of trust, it's just-!" Jack said, his hands moving wildly as he scrambled for an explanation.

"Just what?" I asked.

"I trust you, a whole fucking lot, actually." Jack said, the honesty clear in his voice. "It's just that… you know, it might be better if you don't know this one. It's not like I'm going to ask yo- _her_ out anytime soon, so don't worry about it."

"Fine." I said. "I trust you too." I added, smiling a bit. My cheeks were starting to hurt, actually. Jack slung his arm over my shoulders, tugging me towards him. The action was normal, seeing as though he's been like this for five years… but there was something different here that I couldn't quite place. To say that it was killing me was an understatement.

* * *

"I think you've been reading too much, Ms. Cannonblast." Pitch said suddenly, breaking the concentrated silence that permeated the room. Lauren looked up from the final essay and looked at him.

"Why would you say that, Professor?" She asked, forcing herself to sound calm and unaffected.

"Well, simply because of the fact that it would have taken me weeks to finish that stack of essays and you've completed it within a matter of days." Pitch said. "It makes me wonder if you're reading them at all." Lauren just shoved the graded stack of papers towards him.

"Every single essay is proof-read, and given a grade from E to T. I also added an explanation why they got their grade at the bottom." Lauren explained as Pitch looked at a couple of them, blinking in surprise.

"Have you ever thought of becoming a professor, Cannonblast?" He asked.

"No, sir." She said.

"Think about it." Pitch said, handing her back the essay. She just nodded and placed it back where it belong. Her eyes flitted to where Pitch was standing, and then she refocused on the essay. She felt just the slightest bit creeped out, but all she had to do was finish this essay and she would be home free!

"Why did you do it?" Pitch asked.

"Why did I do _what_, sir?" She asked.

"Why did you steal from my store?"

"I wanted to make a potion, sir, and I didn't have any of the ingredients that I needed." Lauren said, looking up into Pitch's amber eyes. "I _did_ say that I was going to pay you back for everything I took, to the last Knut, actually. You just didn't give me the chance."

"What potion?"

"A low-grade love potion, Professor." Lauren said curtly. Pitch nodded.

"Why?" He asked.

"I believe that is my business, sir." Lauren said, returning back to her work. With a final flourish of her quill, she finished grading the last essay and she blew on the ink quickly. "Done. May I go now?"

"Yes, and don't bother coming back." Pitch said, trying so hard to sound mad, but he was failing.

"Sir, but you said two weeks." Lauren said, not understanding.

"This punishment obviously has no effect on you." Pitch said, sounding tired. "But, Canonblast, you have to promise me something." He didn't even wait for her response before continuing. "If I hear you got associated into any kind of trouble again, I will deal with you personally, if it concerns me or not."

"That makes no-" Lauren protested.

"You, along with Haddock, are the best students I could hope for." Pitch growled, masking the sentiment of the words with the harsh tone he used. "He has already been hijacked by those idiots, but you might be salvageable. Don't let me down."

Lauren just nodded before scooping up her backpack and heading out of the classroom without further ado.

* * *

"So he didn't kill you?" Xavier asked, astonished.

"Nope, obviously." Lauren said, sneering at him. "And I don't have to go to detention anymore." Xavier beamed.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I guess he noticed that reading terrible handwriting and crappy essays have no effect on me." Lauren said, shrugging. "He also told me not to get into any more trouble, or 'he'll deal with me, personally' or something."

Xavier blinked before hugging her head. "I will protect you from the creepiest professor of the century!" He declared.

"Get off of me!" Lauren said, laughing. She pushed him away before straightening out her hair. "You're so weird…" She muttered. "In all honesty, I think I can take him myself."

"He'll snap you like a tooth pick." Xavier stated, his shoulder slumping and shooting Lauren a glare.

"I am not a tooth pick." Lauren said, shaking a finger in his direction. "So how are the other two?" She asked.

"Still oblivious, as always." Xavier responded. "Though Hiccup did throw a royal conniption-fit when he found out Jack has a crush on somebody." He said with a small laugh.

"Really?" Lauren asked, smiling so hard her eyes nearly disappeared.

"Yeah, I brought it up and he sort of freaked. You could see the conflicting feelings fighting each other in his eyes." Xavier said. "It was sort of funny, but then sad at the same time."

"But he doesn't know it's him." Lauren said, sighing. "_Damn_. So! On to Plan B!"

"Oh yeah?" Xavier asked. "What's Plan B?"

"Anonymous letters!" Lauren said. Xavier face-palmed.

"You are going to kill me one of these days…" He said, shaking his head.

"No, the plan is simple really," Lauren said. "Because, you see, all we have to do is-"

"YO! Lovebirds!" Jack said, waving at them from across the field. Hiccup was next to them, probably yelling at him if his gestures and facial expressions were anything to go by.

"HEY GUYS!" Lauren yelled. "I'll fill you in later." She whispered to Xavier as the boys neared. "How's it going?" She asked.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you two _frolicking_ about the castle together," Jack said pleasantly, coming to a stop in front of them and rocking on his heels expectantly. Hiccup sighed and rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed, but the smile on his face told all: he thought Jack teasing them was slightly adorable.

"We do not frolic, Jack" Lauren said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We were just talking about something, actually."

"Cool." Hiccup said. "Wait… aren't you supposed to be in detention still?" He asked, confused.

"No more detention." Lauren said. "Pitch found out that grading essays doesn't affect me as much as he would like it to. So, after I finished the month's-worth of essays, he just let me off with a strict talking-to." She said, shaking her finger mockingly, as if she was an old lady scolding a little boy for having his hand in the cookie jar.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jack said. "If it were me, he would have spilled Nightmare Sand on me so I would have nightmares for the rest of the school year!"

"Jack." Hiccup said, putting his hand on his shoulder and shooting him a frank expression. "I think every teacher would do that."

"Shut up." Jack mumbled, brushing Hiccup's hand off of him with a smile.

"I'm serious!" Hiccup said. "Well, Tooth might be a bit kinder and ask Sandy for some dream sand… but other than that, you'd be cursed with nightmares for sure." He was on the edge of laughter and Jack gave him a concerned look.

"Are you feeling okay?" Jack asked. "You're acting um… what's the word?... oh yeah, you're acting _demented_."

"Nah," Hiccup said, waving him off. "I'm just telling you the truth."

"Hiccy does have a point." Xavier said, raising his eyebrows and smiling. "They would do that."

"I'm just going to call North on all of you." Jack said, pointing at the two of them.

"Excuse me!" Lauren said. "For the record, I haven't done anything to you."

"Oh yeah sorry, Lauren." Jack said. "You're fine. I'll keep you out of this… Maybe."

"Gee thanks." She said sarcastically. "Wait, where's Toothless?"

"He was sleeping last time I saw him." Xavier shrugged. "But then again, when isn't he?" They all laughed.

"What time is it?" Hiccup mumbled to himself, getting out his wand and twirling it in between his fingers. Neon lights flashed, and it showed them that there was at least an hour until dinner. "Dang…" He muttered.

"Hey," Jack said, ruffling Hiccup's hair. "You guys want to skip some stones at the Black Lake?"

"First one to hit the Kraken wins double the points!" Lauren said, smiling. They looked at her weird. "Kidding… I was... kidding. Geez, breathe, guys. It's not like I'm really going to hit the Kraken."

"Says you." Hiccup scoffed. "I'm up for it. X?"

"Do you have to ask?" He asked. "What are we waiting for?"

The four of them were at the Black Lake in a couple minutes afterwards, picking stones from the ground and gathering them. Lauren and Xavier started skipping rocks almost immediately, laughing and joking around.

"I swear I will push you in!" Xavier threatened.

"I'll pull you in with me! Watch!" Lauren said, without missing a beat and threatening right back.

"Let's… move." Jack said, laughing. Hiccup nodded.

"Good idea." Hiccup said. "I don't want to get splashed just because they're idiots." Jack laughed and the two of them moved away from Xavier and Lauren, whose shouting match got louder with every passing second.

"I bet I could get more skips than you." Jack said, lightly, flashing Hiccup a smile. The auburn-haired male smiled right back, making Jack's heart melt right then and there.

"You wanna bet on that one, Frosty?" Hiccup asked, laughing.

"You're on!" Jack said. "Loser has to tell Lauren that Xavier likes her!"

"That's not fair." Hiccup said. "We agreed that we wouldn't meddle!" Jack sighed.

"Alright, killjoy." He said. "Loser needs to do the winner's homework for a week."

"I'd rather not have an F, thanks." Hiccup quipped immediately.

The two found themselves standing on the pier that overlooked the lake and started skipping stones. Of course, from their vantage point above the water, all the rocks sunk, but they just laughed at each other. Neither of them minded, because it ended up being just the two of them. Lauren and Xavier called them to leave for dinner, but both boys were too preoccupied with laughing to care, so they left without them.

"Damn, it's getting late…" Hiccup mumbled, looking up at the stars and shivering. The fall weather did nothing to help the situation. Jack stood there, as stoic as a statue, and looked at Hiccup.

"Do you want to go back to the castle?" Jack asked.

"No…" Hiccup sighed. "I mean, they haven't found out we're not in yet, so I guess that means that we're in the clear for now." Both of them sat down and watched the water of the Black Lake, the Kraken keeping a close eye on the two.

"Man, that guy sure is creepy." Jack muttered after staring at the Kraken for longer than he expected.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Hiccup mumbled, shifting closer to him. "So, does this mean that you have to do my homework, or do we just do our own homework?"

"Oh, Freckles." Jack sighed disappointedly. "I thought you knew by now… I never do my own homework."

"Jack…" Hiccup whined, scooting even closer to Jack's side. He had no idea what he was doing! It was the atmosphere, he knew it. The way the moon shone on the water, the easy-going mood between them… _the way Jack looked in the moonlight_… ugh, he just needed to stop.

"Hiccup…" Jack whined back, mimicking him. "You should know me by now. Homework's all hard work and deadlines… I'm more snowballs and fun times."

"You and your snowballs, I swear, Jack."***** Hiccup mumbled, resting his head onto Jack's shoulder. Jack blushed deeply, and didn't dare to look down.

"Hiccup?" Jack asked, fiddling with the hem of his cloak's sleeve.

"Hmm?" Hiccup hummed in response.

"I… I want to ask you something…" Jack said, hesitantly. If he could survive the next couple of seconds, he would be golden! "Well, say something, actually because… I've liked you since that first day on the train and about all my ex-girlfriends… I was only trying to get you out of my head and… Hiccup?" Jack asked, stopping in the middle of his rambling.

Hiccup snored lightly onto Jack's shoulder as he slept.

"_Fuck me_." Jack sighed dejectedly. He tried waking Hiccup up, but he was out like a light. So Jack scooped him up into his arms bridal style, all magic forgotten, and carried him back into the castle.

* * *

***Plucked straight from my sister's mouth: "Jack likes dem balls." I kid you not. That is exactly what she said.**

**But yeah, thats why Jack had so many girlfriends this time around, because he wanted to get his best friend out of his head.**

***hides* please don't be mad at me! **

**Well, thanks guys for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review, please! Thanks~**

**-HB**


	12. Chapter 11: Figure It Out

**As you all know, the ending of that last chapter sucked. And I'm sorry. Here is my failed attempt at making it better.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Figure It Out

"Hey." Lauren whispered, coming up from behind Xavier and clapping his shoulders. He jumped before clicking his tongue and grabbing her hands, moving her so she was next to him and not behind.

"Are you a lunatic or something?" Xavier asked back, before Lauren smacked her hand on his mouth.

"Shh!" She scolded. "Someone might hear you."

"It's Hogwarts." Xavier said dryly. "Someone can always hear you."

"Whatever." Lauren said, brushing it off. "Do you have them?" She asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet lightly as she smiled at Xavier.

"Yeah," he muttered, pulling out two sheets of paper, each marked with ink.

"Yes!" Lauren said, grabbing them and holding on tight. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She chanted, hugging Xavier furiously. Xavier hugged her around the middle and smiled.

"Gods, I didn't think you'd be so excited about it." Xavier said. "Lauren… Lauren! I can't breathe!"

"Oops. Sorry." Lauren said, letting him go. "But thank you so much, I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would be suffering for these airheads to get together already just as much as I am." Xavier said sarcastically with a smirk.

"That is so true." Lauren said. "Well, I better get working! See you later!" She said, running down the hall and disappearing around a corner, but not without looking back at Xavier and giving him a final wave.

* * *

****A Day Later****

* * *

**Jack's POV**

Even though it's still been a while since it happened… Damn, that was really close. Would I really have gone through with it? I mean, if he hadn't fallen asleep, everything would have been different now. Better or for worse, I guess… though it probably would have been for the worst.

_Just get over it already! He obvious doesn't remember anything about that, so I should just forget it ever happened too!_

"Jack?" Xavier asked, looking at me weird.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup asked, squinting at me from the windowsill and started to move towards me.

"What?" I asked. "I'm fine. Why would guys think I wasn't?"

"Well, you had this really weird, far-off look in your eyes…" Hiccup said. "You sure?"

"Yup." I said. _They caught on. Damn_. "I'm… going for a walk. Really, I'm fine." I assured, getting up and walking out.

I walked out of the common room, and slipped down the hall. I knew a bit about these halls now, and I knew that there was one niche in the wall that no one's ever noticed. I guess at one point there was a suit of armor there, but it's gone now. I found the niche and sat down in it, completely hidden from anyone who would ever pass through.

I slowed down and I started thinking.

This is all so fucked up. I mean, I've only been pining over my best friend for years now, and I just found out how messed up this all is. I've dated tons of girls over the years, trying to get him out of my head, but… I just can't! I knew they wouldn't change anything but I was hoping for the momentary distraction… but the only thing going through my mind whenever I was with them was how different Hiccup would act, how he would respond, how he would slowly lean into the kiss that I was going for…

And… now! A week ago actually! I had the freaking chance to tell him, I did tell him, and he was asleep! Fast asleep! Do you know how much that sucks?! He doesn't remember anything! I guess I'm a bit glad he doesn't remember any of it, because I would probably be out of a friend right now if he did.

But… I want to tell him. I just want to get this all over with and tell him, chances and risks be damned. I'm sick of… hiding! Yeah, I mean, Xavier knows, but that's nothing! And… Hiccup wouldn't be that much of a total jerk to me if I said anything, right? I mean, he doesn't have a cruel bone in his body! If I told him, he would stutter out an apology and say that he didn't swing that way, and that he was too uncomfortable with the fact that I've liked him to be friends anymore. It's not like he'll slap me and call me a-

"Jack!" Xavier called, his voice echoing through the empty marble walls. "Jack, come on…" He said, almost desperately. He walked right past me, and I stuck out my foot, making him trip. "What the-? Jack! What the hell!"

"What?" I asked innocently, standing up. "I saw the opportunity and I took it. Fair game, right?"

"Whatever. Anyways, what the hell, dude?" He asked, pushing my shoulder and making me step backwards. "Why'd you run out like that? You scared the shit out of me... and Hiccup!"

"Look, I'm not doing anything stupid!" I said. "I said I was taking a walk and I am!"

"No, not that…" Xavier said, rolling his eyes. "You've been sort of quiet, too. Care to share what's going on?" He raised his eyebrows and blinked at me, his eyes becoming a soft greenish color.

"I… I might have… almost told Hiccup I liked him."

"You what?" Xavier said. "Why didn't you say something to me before?"

"I… didn't think you would want to be so invested into my love life." I scoffed, slightly surprised at his enthusiasm. "You know, considering that you have your own to deal with."

"Shut up," he muttered quickly. "But, no shit I would want to know! When'd this happen?"

"Ah… remember when we went to skip rocks before dinner?" I asked.

"And Lauren and I effectively ditched you guys? Yup. That was a week ago, wasn't it...?" He said, before his jaw dropped. "Jack, no. That's… that's way too cheesy. Confessing by the moonlight!" He added the last part, swooning.

"Yeah, yeah, it was a spur of the moment type of thing." I mumbled, waving him off as he bat his eyelashes at me. "But it wasn't like he heard me. He fell asleep on my shoulder right when I told him." I snapped my fingers and shoved them into my hoodie's pocket. I looked up at Xavier's face, almost waiting for steam to come out of his ears, when all I saw was a sad-looking expression on his face.

"He… he fell asleep?" Xavier asked. I just nodded. "Damn…" he sighed, "that sucks."

"Yeah, so I've been thinking about that for a while…"

"Understandable." Xavier said reasonably. "But there's no reason why you should be sulking. Just… work up the courage and ask him again, only this time make sure he won't fall asleep."

"Like it's that easy." I mumbled. "Look, it might not seem so bad with you and Lauren, and it might seem easy and all but… you haven't known her for years, okay? You guys haven't been living in the same room for five years… It's different."

"I never said it was easy." Xavier said, throwing his hands up. "I know where you're coming from, but… that doesn't mean you can't try anymore just because of one failed attempt."

"It's just…"

"Come on. Don't even think too hard about it." Xavier said, flicking my forehead harshly. "You'll get wrinkles. Now let's head back to the room, because Hiccup was worried out of his mind when you left."

"Yeah, I guess I have been acting strange lately." I said. Seriously, I turned down the offer to go flying with him and Toothless last night. I wasn't in the right state of mind if I passed up a flight!

The Fat Lady basically cussed me out as we made our way back into the common room, telling me that I was irrational and yadda yadda yadda. She's been giving me the same lecture ever since first year. Really, I could act it out perfectly.

"Hi Jack!" Some girls squealed as I was running up the stairs, Xavier right behind me. I ignored them, really not wanting to get involved into all that shit at the moment. My mind was so fucked up, I didn't even want them to distract me.

"Hey Frosty and One-With-Many-Faces." Hiccup greeted, smiling at us.

"**What was that all about, Frost?**" Toothless asked, stretching in his spot in Hiccup's lap. I chose to ignored him.

"Will you stop calling me that?!" Xavier said, loudly. "I really don't appreciate it!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Hiccup said, waving him off. "Jack, what was that all about?" He asked me, unknowingly repeating the questions his cat-dragon… thing just asked. I laughed a little, before I saw the completely serious and slightly worried look on Hiccup's face. I coughed into my fist and cleared my throat.

"It was nothing. I was thinking about something and I just needed to walk it off." I said easily.

"Alright then." Hiccup said. He dug his wand out of his boot. "You ready, or are you going to opt out again?" He asked me, turning Toothless into a dragon with a mutter afterwards.

"Let's go!" I said, throwing the window open. The sky was dark, with barely the stars to light it since it was a new moon tonight. I heard Hiccup laugh lightly as he rummaged through his trunk and got the flight gear. I knew enough to help him hook up Toothless while he slipped on his own vest-like gear.

"If you two get caught, I'm going to laugh my ass off…" Xavier muttered, climbing into his bed and facing opposite the window.

"Oh, stop being such a baby." I chided.

"Come on, leave him be…" Hiccup said, tugging at my shirt as Toothless slipped through the wide-open window.

Freckles sat down, and I slid behind him, wrapping my arms around his chest. Toothless didn't even give us a warning when he let go of the building and plummeted to the ground. Hiccup let out a whoop of excitement, while I just laughed and held onto him as tight as I could without bringing my hips forward and…

_Nope._

Toothless threw out his wings and our fall immediately stopped. With a couple flaps of his wings and a flick of Hiccup's ankle, we were steadily climbing into the sky. I laughed again, the wind whipping my hair in every direction and making me squint just to see. I carefully unwound my arms from Hiccup and placed my hands on his shoulders, keeping my grip by digging my fingernails into the thick leather paddings that were there.

When Toothless thought we were high enough, he leisurely coasted across the sky. That gave me time to awkwardly move away from Hiccup, just a bit.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened, for real this time?" Hiccup asked, straightening out his back and looking behind his shoulder to make eye contact with me. I gulped.

"Well…"

"Jack."

"I guess it has something to do with my crush." I said. Was it me, or did his shoulders actually slump? And did his smile really drop like it was a hot potato or something? Before I could figure this out, he pulled on another smile, a phony one at best, but it still made those stupid butterflies in my stomach flutter.

"Are you ever going to ask her out, then?" Hiccup asked, chuckling without any humor. I blinked at the weird sound, before forgetting about it.

"No, I don't think so." I said, trying to smile but failing. "I don't think I have the guts to."

"Wow, you must really be smitten." Hiccup said, turning back around.

"**What are you doing?!**" Toothless basically snarled at him, and his growl didn't go unnoticed. Hiccup patted his head reassuringly.

"I'm not doing anything, thank you!" I said back. Toothless growled again, before taking off at full speed. I yelled, and I probably should have seen it coming, but… yeah, whatever. I wrapped my arms around Hiccup's waist.

"Bud!" Hiccup chastised, sinking into a lower position and readjusting his grip on Toothless' harness. "What's gotten into you?!" Hiccup laughed, all seriousness gone as he played along, flicking his ankle and keeping in sync with the dragon's movements. I was just here as a third-wheeler.

"**You keep making him depressed!**" Toothless yelled at me, clearly irritated. "**You are hurting him! I swear that I will kill you as soon as we land!**"

"This isn't my fault! And what are you talking about?!" I yelled right back.

"What are you screaming about?" Hiccup asked, glancing at me quickly.

"Your stupid dragon says he's gonna kill me!"

"Toothless…" Hiccup said, giving him a look. "Come on… he hasn't done anything worthy of death… yet, that is."

"Yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, because you always do something stupid." Hiccup remarked, laughing. "Hey, bud, let's head back." He said, rubbing Toothless' head.

The dragon complied, getting us back to Gryffindor Tower with huge dives, dizzying spins and finally with a gentle landing. Well, as gentle as landing on the side of a tower can get you, anyways. As usual, I slid off Toothless first, immediately followed by Hiccup, and then the dragon himself clambers in. Only this time, the dragon burst through the window with a lot more energy than expected, launching himself at me and making me land onto the room's floor with a loud grunt.

"Toothless!" Hiccup said, trying to urge him off of me. His pupils were slits and he looked at me with unadulterated hate.

"**What have you been doing to him?!**" Toothless roared in my head, but in reality he snarled lightly because of Xavier. "**Every single time you do something like this, the only result is him getting hurt!**"

"Well, how am I supposed to know, really?" I shouted back.

"Jack!" Hiccup said. "What's going on?" Toothless only swished his tail, catching Hiccup around the waist gently and pulled him away from us. "Hey!" He whispered, slightly offended, but when Toothless shot him a quick look, he stopped trying to move towards us again.

"**Either you keep away from him, or you do not speak to him!**" Toothless said territorially. "**I will NOT have him hurt just because of some petty crush!**"

"It's not petty, okay?" I said. "And that's not possible so get off me!"

"**Oh, it will be possible, because if not, I will tell him myself!**" Toothless retorted.

"How? You can't even talk to him!"

"**I am not illiterate, Frost. I know how to spell. I can write it in the dirt, or on the fog of a window… really, there are multiple ways!**" Toothless said, leaning down closer to my face and snarling again.

"You can't threaten me! I've had enough of this!" I said, reaching up and pushing myself out from under him. "It's not my fault that he gets hurt, okay? You know that's the last thing I want to do!"

"**Then why are you not telling him? Why are you keeping this a secret?**" Toothless said.

"Jack…" Hiccup said cautiously. "Is everything alright?" He sounded like a child who just walked in on his parents fighting: scared and worried. I shot him a reassuring smile before looking back at the acid-green eyes of the dragon.

"Because I don't want to hurt this, okay?" I said levelly, calming down a little. Toothless sat back on his haunches and looked at me as if I was an interesting puzzle to solve. I rolled my eyes and looked back to Hiccup. "Everything's fine." I said, smiling again. "There was just a… misunderstanding."

"What misunderstanding?" Hiccup asked. "What was there to misunderstand?"

"Nothing, Freckles," I said, sighing.

"I know you were talking about me." Hiccup said. "I have a right to know why I was in your guys' conversation."

"Don't worry about it," I said, walking over and grabbing his shoulders, shaking him lightly. "It's over with now." I assured.

"Okay…" Hiccup said like he was just told that _no_, he could _not_ have the cookies in the cookie jar. He brushed my hands off of him and walked towards Toothless. He began to strip off the over-complicated saddle and steering mechanism. I tried to help, but Toothless growled whenever I got close. I guess he was still scared that I'll hurt Hiccup again.

I stood back and stared at Hiccup for a while until I realized I was staring at something I probably shouldn't have. I blushed and looked away pointedly. He knew we were talking about him… he probably won't forget this. Hiccup threw Toothless' gear into his trunk and took off his gear, simultaneously casting the spell at Toothless, turning him into a cat.

"I, uh… I'm changing." Hiccup said, a bit awkwardly as he grabbed his pajamas and rushed into the bathroom.

"O… kay." I said, finishing the word when the door slammed as quietly as a door could slam. Taking the opportunity, I grabbed my sweater from my trunk. I tore off my pants, my cloak and my polo shirt, and slipped on my sweater. I fixed my clothes a bit until my boxers looked like really short shorts.

It's… okay, come on, it's not like I was doing that on purpose! I wasn't, like, trying to seduce him or anything! Honest! That's literally just how I slept!

I rolled my eyes at my inner monologue and sat down at the window next to my bed. I let my fingertips brush the glass of the window, and ice instantly bloomed across the surface, taking shape of a Night Fury in flight.

Speaking of the Night Fury…

Toothless swaggered up to me and nuzzled his face onto my shins before sitting down on top of my feet. I shot him a glare, knowing what he was up to.

"What, Toothless?" I asked, annoyed.

"**Why do you think you would ruin your friendship with him?**" Toothless asked softly. I rolled my eyes and scoffed at him lightly.

"I'm not going to confess my feelings to a cat." I said indignantly.

"**I am just saying, sometimes you have to take risks.**" Toothless said reasonably. "**And you do not know, maybe you would not ruin anything at all.**" I rolled my eyes at his cheesiness and petting his head grudgingly.

"Oh yeah, getting advice from a cat." I commented lowly. "You know my life is in order."

"Pretty much." Hiccup said, suddenly appearing in front of us. I had a mini-heart attack, and he just laughed.

"You scared me!" I gasped, clutching my chest for emphasis. Hiccup laughed again, and moved to sit on the opposite side of me, wiggling his toes under Toothless' belly and touching mine.

"I'm sure you'll get over it." Hiccup assured with a sarcastic smirk on his face. His hair was wet and hanging into his eyes, and all he was wearing was a dark tank top and some basketball shorts. I literally had to tear my eyes off of him.

"No, I will _not_ get over it." I said stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'll die, and it'll be all your fault!"

"Madame Pomfrey will take good care of you." He said, turning his attention to the ice on the window. "You must really love flying." Hiccup said under his breath, reaching out and brushing his hands over the pattern. The ice Night Fury immediately melted.

"Yeah, well, I guess." I said shrugging. Flying really was amazing, but the thing was… flying on Toothless was just better because Hiccup was there…

"Look." Hiccup said abruptly. I looked at him. "You don't have to tell me what you and Toothless were talking about. That was stupid, I'm sorry." Hiccup said at top speed, almost like he was running out of time to say it.

"Don't worry about it." I said quickly. Hiccup puffed air into his cheeks and wiggled his toes, pressing them against mine. I laughed, and nudged his toes back. Toothless hissed indignantly and hopped off our feet, leaving our toes exposed to the cold.

And… that's how the war began.

Toe fights turned into flat-out kicking each other's shins, which turned into Hiccup lurching forward and tickling my feet. I laughed and kicked his hands away in retaliation. Then I pushed his shoulders, and then he pushed me back. It was really hard to keep the noise down, because it all escalated so fast and we just kept on laughing. I slid onto the floor, trying to get away from him.

"HA!" Hiccup yelled quietly as he tackled me. We wrestled for a bit until I unconsciously let him pin my wrists above my head. Out faces were really close and I looked at his lips, totally kissable from here. I could do it. I tilted my head up, bringing our face closer together and out noses were touching now…

Our eyes met for a quick second, and then we moved away from each other quickly. I sat up and scooted away from him as he coughed lightly into his fist.

"Well, that was interesting…" I murmured, blinking quickly and feeling the blood rush to my face and uh… somewhere else.

"Very interesting." Hiccup agreed. "Well, this seems like a good time to get some sleep." He said, getting up and walking across the room, climbing into his bed. I chuckled without any humor and threw myself onto my bed too.

"Night," I said quickly, shifting slightly and closing my eyes.

"Night." Hiccup said, his voice barely a whisper.

"**You could always take a risk, you know**." Toothless said, and I could hear him purr from across the room. I ignored him, and forced myself to fall asleep, his comment going unanswered.

* * *

**UH... terrible ending. Don't mind me, I'll just be sitting under a rock for the next three years.**

**Thanks for putting up with me guys! Leave a review! I love you!**

**-HB**


	13. Chapter 12: Two Mysterious Letters

**PHASE TWO: THANKSGIVING**

**Warning: Muggle objects, stupidity, and really cool dueling.**

**(I own nothing... okay, proceed.)**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Two Mysterious Letters

**Hiccup's POV**

"Hey guys!" Lauren greeted cheerfully when all three of us walked into the Great Hall. Xavier grunted, pulling a half-asleep smile onto his face. Jack raised his hand in response before tugging at his tie with a scowl.

"Hey Loor…" I mumbled sleepily, rubbing my face with the palm of my hand.

"Loor?" Lauren asked, her eyebrows raised. She looked like she was about to burst into laughter.

"Yup." I said simply as we all sat down opposite her. Jack immediately reached out and shoveled a couple Belgium waffles onto his plate. Xavier got some scrambled eggs and started eating.

"Alright then!" Lauren said, shoving that subject behind her. "Anyways, do you guys know what day it is?!" She asked us excitedly. Jack shrugged, not giving an answer as he stuffed some food into his mouth. Xavier looked like he was about to say something, before he blinked and looked back onto his plate. I rolled my eyes.

"Since they aren't answering you…" I said, smiling weakly and gesturing to them. "No, I don't. What day is it?" I asked.

"THANKSGIVING!" Lauren cried, throwing her hands out above her head and smiling widely.

"I forgot…" Jack muttered weakly before eating more of his waffles.

"It's only, like, the best holiday ever!" Lauren said.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said. "Just think about all the food…" I said as an afterthought.

"Christmas is still better." Jack said pointedly. He was probably going to continue before he was cut off by the loud sound of wings flapping wildly.

Owls flooded the ceiling of the Great Hall, hooting loudly and scanning the people in the Hall. "Post is here!" Someone yelled unnecessarily as the owls swooped down. The screeching was insanely loud, and it was seriously annoying, especially when you know that you aren't getting any-

Whoa… those two owls are getting really close…

Suddenly, two letters dropped onto the table, a blue one in front of me and a green on in front of Jack. I blinked at the thing quickly before I picked it up gingerly. My dad always promised to write, but I never thought that he would actually send me something. Plus, he had no real way to get it to me since we don't own an owl. I mean, yeah, he could send it through the Muggle post, but that would take too long. I looked at the letter and noticed it didn't have a return address.

"Who's it from?" Xavier asked. His voice still sounded tired, and I had to laugh at how pathetic he was; he could just never get up, could he?

"I don't know…" I mumbled.

"Me neither." Jack said, looking at his letter.

"I thought it was from your mom." I said, confused. Most of the time, his mom or Emma would send him the odd letter, but since Emma was gone… his mom usually sent him more letters. He was her only child now, and she was just worried about him and how he's all taking it and coping or whatever.

"I thought so too," Jack said, his fingers moving to open the letter… when he suddenly stopped. "But I guess I'll have to wait and find out who it's from." He said. I gave him a look, and he turned the letter towards me. In bright silver lettering, the message "OPEN IN PRIVATE" was written in very familiar handwriting… almost like mine... I blinked at it, and Jack shot me a smile. I looked at mine, and in clear, white letters, it said the same message, but in a different, yet still familiar, hand.

"Me too." I said, stuffing my letter into the pocket of my cloak. "My dad's probably being weird and wants to see how I'm doing or something." I said realistically. Really, who else would be sending me a letter?

"And my mom probably has some top-secret Ministry business to tell me about." Jack said, rubbing his hands together. Lauren and Xavier snorted.

"Let's get to class, weirdoes." Lauren said, standing up and stretching quickly before grabbing her bag. We all said a little goodbye before setting off into opposite directions and going to class.

* * *

_**. . .**_

* * *

It was a stupid letter. A really, really stupid letter. And it made things worse! I haven't even read it yet and it's driving me insane! Who sends a letter to someone and then doesn't put who it's from? Or, who makes a letter so secret, that it literally doesn't open in public?

I've been picking at the seal of the letter all day, but no matter what I do, the letter simply won't open! It's crazy! Who does all this?!

Something was bugging me about the whole thing. I mean, I could see my handwriting on Jack's letter! Letter for letter, I was sure that was my handwriting, I could bet on it and win a million Galleons! The lettering on my letter looked strangely familiar too, but I couldn't put a name to the writing at the moment. All I really wanted to do was read the letter!

It didn't help that we were doing absolutely nothing in any of our classes for the first part of the day, anyways. It was all just some form of Thanksgiving-themed lesson that was all fun and games. I don't really think that anyone really knew what Thanksgiving was all about and how it started, but no one really complained because it was just another holiday to get a huge feast on.

Free period came quick enough and all I wanted to do was go off on my own and see where this stupid letter came from. Jack was bouncing on the balls of his feet, so I guess he was just as excited as I was.

"Uh, I'm going to the bathroom." I said, shoving my hand in my pocket and feeling for the letter. I knew I wouldn't have been anywhere else, but I needed to check. Xavier scoffed at me.

"What a lame excuse." He said, laughing lightly and shaking his head at me.

"I'm going to the Library." Jack said quickly.

"You guys are pathetic!" Xavier said. "If you want to be alone to read those letters, then why don't you just say so?"

"Okay, fine." Jack said, stopping mid-stride and looking at Xavier. "I want to be alone so I can read the _stupid_ letter."

"Me too," I chimed in. "the suspense is killing me, so I'd better go and read it soon before I explode." Jack and I shared a smirk.

"Geez, well I didn't need the sass." Xavier grumbled jokingly as he threw his hands in the air and walked away. Jack and I looked at each other and laughed. Then we started walking down the hallway in the opposite direction of Xavier.

"Is it me, or does this seem a little suspicious to you?" I asked suddenly, voicing my thoughts from earlier. He shot me a confused look, his blue eyes crinkled because of his playful smirk.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "They're only letters. What's there to be suspicious of?"

"Think about it!" I said. "What are the odds of two letters being received the same day, with both of them not even having a return address, and both of them having the same ominous note on the back of them?"

"You want the truth?" Jack asked. I nodded. "The chances are pretty slim."

"Exactly!" I said, throwing my hands out. "I think this is a set-up or a prank or something. Maybe Sammy did this!"

"You're too suspicious." Jack said, laughing at me. "There is no way that Sammy would even think about something so far-fetched. The most complex thought she's had in years is whether or not to wear that dress with those shoes."

"Oh, please, be nice to her." I said, even though I didn't like her. "There's still something weird about all this. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Be sorry for once!" Jack said, laughing. "I'm going to repeat the very same wise words your cat told me: take a risk. What can happen?"

"Toothless was talking to you about risks?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, he can be very deep if he wants to." Jack said, chuckling inwardly. "The point is, you want to know what your letter says just as much as I want to know what mine does. So you go into that bathroom, and read it." He said, grabbing my shoulders, turning me around and showing me towards the door that lead to the boy's lavatory.

"Fine, fine…" I mumbled. "I'll read the stupid letter…" I sounded resigned, but in all honesty, I was going to read it anyways.

"That's the spirit!" Jack said, mock-saluting me and turning on his heel, walking away from me and probably heading towards the Library like he said he was going to. I snorted as I thought of his getting lost in the halls trying to get there.

"Okay…" I sighed. "Let's see what this is all about…"

The letter seemed heavier now, or has it always been this weight? I couldn't have told you. My fingers worked shakily at the seal, and I noticed the message on the back of it was gone. Flipping the letter open, I saw a piece of fresh parchment folded neatly and stuffed delicately into the envelope. With a shaky breath, I took it out and unfolded it.

**_"Happy Thanksgiving!_**

**_I didn't want to tell you this in person, because it would just be awkward on so many levels, but I like you… a lot. I like the way your eyes light up, and your freckles, and the way you talk about things when you get excited. Seeing you makes me forget about everything that's happened, as cheesy as that sounds. Meet me at the Astronomy Tower at midnight._**

**_See you then… hopefully,_**

**_Anonymous"_**

"The hell?" I asked aloud, looking around to see if there were some sort of hidden cameras or something to record my reaction. I dropped the letter and took a step away from it. "What?" I asked to no one again, looking at the letter like it just smacked me in the face.

Who would send something like this? Seriously, that's weird! I mean, flattering and all, yes, but still really insane and twisted. I waited a whole day for this? For some random person to compliment me and practically confess their love, and then ask me to go to the Astronomy Tower after curfew? They'll probably kill me, those psychos!

"What a weird way to say that." I said to myself, grabbing the letter and shoving it into my backpack. I rolled my eyes at myself, thinking about how stupid this all was, and made my way to Gryffindor Tower.

"Well, that was fast." Xavier said, getting up almost gracefully from an armchair and walking towards me. "What'd it say?" He asked.

"Some stupid love confession and an invitation just begging me to get detention for them." I said, almost laughing.

"Ha, you're kidding me, right?" Xavier asked, almost in denial. "A love letter? And here I thought the only person who would love you was Toothless." I shot him a glare.

"Gee, thanks, Xavier." I said flatly, heading up the stairs to the dormitory. "I knew I could count on you."

"Well, I'm just saying…" Xavier said, and I didn't even have to look over my shoulder to see him raise his hands in his own defense. "Lemme see the letter." He said, tapping my shoulder. I rolled my eyes, and as we were walking down the hallway, I dug through my backpack and shoved the letter in his direction. He took it, and when we got to our room, he nearly bumped into the doorjamb because of how close he was reading it.

"Careful, there." I warned. "I don't want my first love letter to be ruined by some idiot running into a door." Xavier sneered at me.

"This is… awesome…" He said, squinting and looking closely at the paper.

"Are you done drooling over my letter, yet?" I said, snatching it away.

"Depends." Xavier said, lifting his chin a little. "Are you going?"

"Going where?" I asked.

"To meet them!" He said, smacking the back of my head. "Tonight, you know, at the Astronomy Tower. Are you going?!"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked him, rubbing the back of my head and giving him a 'really?' look. "No, I'm not going! I might as well walk up to Professor North's office at one in the morning and ask him for snicker doodles."

"Snicker doodles, good one." Xavier said, snorting and shaking a finger at me. "But, seriously, I think you should go." I gave him another look. "Well, if it were me, I would want to know who had enough interest in me to actually send me this letter."

"True, but…" I said. "I don't know. I don't feel like it's worth my time. What if they're butt-ugly, or stupid, or a complete ass hat?"

Okay, maybe I was making excuses. There was no way I was going to meet this person, whoever they may be. As stupid as it sounded, I didn't even want to know my options at this point. I guess I really was strung-up on Jack, if I didn't even want to know anything about this creepy, albeit sweet, person.

"Hello? Have you looked around Hogwarts?" Xavier asked, throwing his hands out. "Most of everyone here is ugly, or stupid, or an ass hat!"

"Not everyone…" I mumbled, toying with my sleeves.

"But you've got to look past that!" Xavier said, continuing as if he didn't even hear me. "This person complimented you on your freaking freckles, for crying out loud. They've obviously been staring at you and you didn't know it." Well he had a point there. "I don't know." Xavier said, throwing his hands up. "If someone noticed my eyes changed color, I would want to know who was looking at me long enough to notice."

"Thanks for the food for thought…" I said, folding the letter and stuffing it back into my backpack. "I might go." I said, as an afterthought.

"Good for you, Hiccy."

"Do you have to keep on calling me that?!"

* * *

**Jack's POV**

So, it took me forever to get to the Library. And when I did get in, the letter wouldn't let me open it, and the message of "OPEN IN PRIVATE" didn't disappear. I wandered the Library, going from place to place, looking at the letter and watching for the message to disappear. When it did, the lunch bell already rang and I found myself in the fiction section, so I sat down on the windowsill seat and opened the letter. I might as well read it fast so I could get to lunch before everything good was gone.

"What… the ever-living…"

"Hey Jack!" Someone said. I looked around and Lauren was suddenly sitting down in the chair right next to mine. "Oooh, is that the mysterious letter that you got this morning?" She asked, scooting closer.

"Yeah," I said, looking back at the letter. "It's… pretty stupid."

"Who's it from?" Lauren asked. "Your mom? I heard Hiccup talking about it this morning."

"Well, apparently, it's from this person who likes to call themselves A-nonny-mouse." I said, pointing at the signature at the bottom. She clicked her tongue at me and flicked my forehead.

"That says anonymous, dummy." She said.

"I know." I said, rubbing my forehead, acting offended. "But apparently, someone loves 'the way my eyes shine when I'm about to prank somebody.'" I said in a romantic fashion, pretending to swoon onto her shoulder. Lauren giggled.

"Well, that's sort of sweet…" She said.

"They also like the way I'm always trying to make people laugh." I said, glaring at the words on the page. "And… they want me to be at the Astronomy Tower at midnight tonight."

"Whoa…" Lauren said. I looked at her, and she looked like she was going to explode. "Someone has it bad for you." She said, biting her lip. "Are you going to do it?"

"Eh… maybe." I said, tossing the letter onto the table. "Probably not, though." I said.

"What?!" Lauren asked, gripping my shoulder. "Why not?"

"I already like someone." I said simply, shrugging. "I don't need to see whoever the heck this person is."

"But but but… Just…" Lauren stuttered for a moment, before sighing heavily. "Couldn't you just pop your head in, to see who they are? At least?"

"Why? It wouldn't make a difference." I said, squinting at her. "Besides, I don't know what kind of psycho could be there, waiting to get me alone… and when they do… WHAM! They'll kill me!"

"Shut up!" Lauren hissed, placing her hand on my mouth and looking around. "Do you want Mrs. Pince to come and kick us out?!" She said. I brushed her hand off my face and wiped my mouth.

"I don't care." I said. "I only came in here to read that stupid letter anyways."

"It's not stupid!" Lauren said, actually looking offended. I gave her a weird glance before she cleared her throat. "I mean, I think it's rather sweet, from what I've heard anyways. I think whoever wrote that must really like you."

"I… don't care, no offense." I said, putting my hands up like I was dropping the conversation.

"Aww!" She pouted. "Give them a chance, at least!"

"Why are you so invested in this?" I asked her, folding my arms across my chest. She blushed.

"I just don't want you to miss an opportunity like this." Lauren said, looking at her feet. "That's all." I opened my mouth to say something when she looked up at me and grabbed one of my hands with both of hers. "Tell me you'll think about it. Please?"

"Fine… I'll think about it." I said, resigned.

"Yay!" Lauren whispered, standing up and ruffling my hair. "C'mon, let's go get some lunch, yeah?"

"Is there any time left?" I asked, shoving the letter and the envelope deep into my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

"If we hurry." Lauren said, smiling.

We nearly ran to the Great Hall, reaching it just in time to meet up with Xavier and Hiccup, and Toothless of course, and scarf down some ham sandwiches before the bell rang.

"Hey, I'll see you guys at the feast tonight!" Lauren said, waving goodbye to us as we left to Potions.

The classroom was dark and brooding as always, and it smelled strongly of pumpkin pie for some reason. Pitch was holding his head with one hand as everyone filed in and took their spots. There were a few hushed murmurs throughout the room, wondering when Pitch would stop rubbing his temple and yell at them to be quiet.

"I was forced to have a lesson planned that had something to do with the festivities of today." Pitch said, sighing and standing up. "So, would anyone mind telling me what they smell?"

"Uh, smell, Professor?" Hiccup asked, raising his hand before he dared to say a word. I almost punched his shoulder and told him to be quiet, but I stopped myself.

"Yes, Haddock, smell." Pitch drawled, walking around the classroom with his hands folded behind his back.

"Easy." I said. "Pumpkin pie." Everyone looked at me. I mean, I know I usually did answer any of Pitch's questions, like, ever, but this was still sort of insane. I could say something at least a bit relevant in Potions class!

"Correct, Frost," Pitch said, before he drawled, "for the first time in five years."

"I try, Professor." I said, nodding. He shot me a glare with his sickening amber eyes before looking at everyone else.

"Like I was saying…" Pitch said walking off and continuing his little speech.

"Hiccup." I whispered. He looked at me. "Watch." I said. I knocked my quill off of my desk and I bent down to pick it up. Instead, I pressed my palm flat onto the floor. I blinked slowly, and frost bloomed across the floor in a thin stripe, travelling towards Pitch. The frost swerved, and then grew into a wide patch of ice, the trail melting away. Pitch took one step forward and slipped, falling onto the floor with a loud crash.

Everyone gasped, while some murmured whether he was okay or not, some sniggered too. Hiccup just hit my shoulder, biting his knuckle to keep from laughing. I was dying. Xavier looked back at us and shook his head at me, and I could hear his sarcastic chuckle that meant "_that was a good one, but it's rude to laugh_". It only made me laugh harder, and I had to hold onto Hiccup's shoulder and rest my forehead onto it in order to stay in my seat.

Pitch struggled to his feet with as much grace as a newborn baby giraffe, the ice long melted, though I should have kept it there to complicate matters. He didn't look hurt, so that was a good thing, but then again… I don't think it would have mattered if he got hurt or not. I was just looking for a laugh, not to maim or seriously injure, after all.

"So, what we will be doing today…" Pitch said, continuing like nothing ever happened. I bit my lip to stop from laughing so hard, and Hiccup had to shove me off of him because I was clutching at him like he was my once chance of survival.

Hiccup slapped the back of my head when Pitch was done with his lecture. Apparently, we were supposed to brew Amortentia*****, the most powerful love potion in the world. Even though it was way beyond our skill level, we had to at least try.

"How do this even have anything to do with Thanksgiving?" I asked, slaving over the cauldron as Hiccup stood beside me, carefully cutting something or other. He hip-checked me quickly before scooping some purple-ish substance off the cutting board and plopping it into the cauldron.

"Something about know what to be thankful for because it's what you most appreciate…" Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. "Which is… sort of smart, but also really stupid, seeing how we're just going to mess up this potion completely anyways."

"But the point is to try, Haddock." Pitch said, appearing behind him suddenly. I really just wanted to push him away, then and there, and growl at him to leave Hiccup alone, but I couldn't; I was on stirring duty.

"O-of course, Professor," Hiccup said quickly. "I know that." Pitch just huffed, and walked away, as if he were below his concern once more. "Geez…" Hiccup muttered. "You'd think he wouldn't invade people's personal bubbles like that." I snorted.

"He's the Boogeyman, Frecks," I said. "I thought we had this debate last year."

"I don't know, I'm still not convinced." Hiccup said. We both glanced at Pitch. "Eh, okay, maybe you're right, but the image of him lurking under my bed is unnerving on so many levels, it's not even funny."

"I'd rather stick with my dust bunnies, thanks." I said. I looked around, and everyone was smelling their cauldrons appreciatively. "Hey, were those the last ingredients?" I asked him.

"Yup." Hiccup said, smiling. "Why is it working?" He walked over to my side and knocked my hands away. He leaned over and smelled the liquid, the steam framing his face. "Hmph. Nothing." He said, frowning.

"What? No way." I said, leaning in right next to him and sniffing too. All I could smell was Hiccup's hair and an earthy smell of pine and dirt. In other words, all I smelled was the dork that was standing next to me. "That's a bummer."

"Hey," Hiccup said, laughing. "We should sneak some out for Xavier, that way he can woo Lauren."

"Imagine how much trouble we would be in if we did that!" I asked, laughing. Then I smirked. "Let's do it." I whispered, my hand reaching out to grab a vial, my eyes watching Pitch.

"Out potion doesn't even work!" Hiccup hissed. "And, besides, I was just kidding." He smacked my hand, bringing me back to reality.

"One of these days, Freckles…" I said, shaking my finger at him. "One of these days you'll let me do whatever I want, when I want, without your nagging to stop me." Hiccup sneered, and I laughed, moving closer to hug his head. "I'm kidding. Where would I be without you, you Naggy Viking, you?"

"In… Azkaban, you, frostbitten… crazy person…" Hiccup said, pushing at my arms and finally freeing his head from my grasp. "Gee thanks, I just couldn't breathe!"

"Well, all you had to do was say so!" I said, holding up my hands innocently. "But nooo, you had to go and be all stubborn…"

"I'm a Viking." Hiccup said. "We have stubbornness issues. Get over it."

"Yeah yeah…" I said. "And did you just call me a frostbitten crazy person?!" I asked.

"And said that you would be in Azkaban without me? Why, yes, yes I did." Hiccup said. "That took you a while to catch on."

"You're cruel." I said, pouting.

"Thanks!" Hiccup sang horribly.

"I think you're worse than your _cat_." I said, putting as much emphasis on the word as I could.

"Now that's just exaggerating." Hiccup said, brushing me off. "Toothless hates you. I, on the other hand, couldn't hurt a fly."

"You've killed a swarm of butterflies before." I said, glaring at him with an '_I totally don't believe you_' expression. Hiccup's face dropped, his mouth turning into a pout before his eyebrows scrunched up.

"They were vampire butterflies, for the millionth time!" Hiccup said, waving his arms around wildly and almost smacking me in the chest. "They could have killed me!"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving him off. "You know they were innocent. And yet you killed them. You're a monster!"

"I'm not a monster!" Hiccup said. "They were going to suck my blood, what else was I supposed to do?" He asked, stepping towards me. I looked down at him and smirked.

"I don't know, but you didn't have to end their lives with slow, sadistic torture like you did!" I said, shuffling his feet so that I brought myself closer to Hiccup without it being completely noticeable. I didn't want Hiccup to know that I wanted to be closer to him and to smell that gloriously earthy smell that always seemed to come off him in waves… And I wanted to plant a huge, wet kiss right on his lips, too...

But let's not talk about that one, shall we? Because there's something wrong if you want to kiss your best friend, but smelling their hair is completely normal!

"Oh, come off it!" Hiccup said. "It wasn't slow and sadistic! I just… batted them out of the air and stomped on them a little."

"Slow and sadistic." I assured, nodding. "You don't know if those poor butterflies died right away, Freckles, or if they stayed on the ground, too weak to move as they hung on to the last strand of life…"

"Come on!" Hiccup said. "You can't really be feeling sorry for them! They were vampire butterflies!"

"Still a butterfly." I said, shrugging.

"Why are we even talking about butterflies?" Hiccup asked, almost irritated, looking up into my face, but he didn't have to look far. I didn't know I moved so close to him, but our noses were close to touching.

"Because you're a psycho maniac that kills butterflies." I said, smiling.

I closed my eyes and moved closer, angling my head a bit and aiming for a kiss when...

**_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNG!_**

I jumped away automatically and looked away, my heartbeat hammering and blood rushing to my face. Did I seriously just decide to do that in the middle of Potions class? This was so messed up... Did... OH MY GOSH. Did he see that I was trying to kiss him?!

Hiccup wasn't looking at me. He was looking at anything but me. He saw. He knew. Goddammit, he was going to kill me. If not know, he would wait until we were in our room and then he was going to skin me alive. Hopefully, Xavier would be there to stop him before he killed me.

I shoved everything in my backpack, and we all walked out of the classroom.

"Smooth," Xavier whispered in my ear, clapping my shoulder. Hiccup looked over with a quizzical expression, before his cheeks flared up and he looked away again. I brushed Xavier off me, and sighed. I screwed up. I shouldn't have done that. He can't even look at me! My heart hurt. There was no way that he wouldn't have seen that...

_Stop. Forget about it. If you act like nothing happened, one day you'll end up believing it, and maybe you could convince him too_.

Gee, thanks weird voice of wisdom, that's easy for you to say.

Oddly, it sort of helped and my panic melted off of me. Nothing happened.

* * *

Defense consisted of Bunny's lecture on the importance of hope and being thankful… and then he went on to teach them a few more protective spells and threw them into a game he literally made up the morning when he woke up.

The game went like this: first, you picked a person you had to protect. Then you and that person get thrown into a duel with another pair, and the two teams have to try and hit the protected student with a hex or another spell that wouldn't hurt the other person. Once that happened, the champions are crowned and the next pair gets thrown in.

It was fun, to say the least, but it was mostly a big pain in everyone's ass. The protectors needed to be quick and big, in order to cover up their little charge, and they needed to be good with aim and hexes and stuff like that. Of course, no really fit that bill in their class…

All except for Jack. When Bunny mentioned the word "partner", he instantly looked at Hiccup and smiled at him, saying that Hiccup had no other choice. Hiccup rolled his eyes and nodded. He was still sort of uneasy about the whole thing, especially because he tried to kiss Jack... again! But this time, oooh, it was worse, because they were in the middle of class. Everyone would have seen! Hiccup couldn't look at Jack for a second without thinking that, if he actually went through with it... he didn't even want to think about it.

When the dueling started, Jack was determined not to let anyone's spell touch Hiccup, and with a million defensive spells, along with his Frost Spell, he successfully took out the competition at every turn. He was laughing and having a good time, Hiccup standing right behind him like a second skin with his hands on the back of his shoulders, basically feeding energy into him.

…Right until Xavier and his teammate stepped into the dueling zone. Xavier had this smirk on his lips, and he raised an eyebrow at Jack, who immediately blushed. An unspoken conversation was passed in between them:

_'You're enjoying this, aren't you?'_

_'Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!_

_'Of course I do. You're loving every minute of him clinging to you for dear life!'_

_'I'll make you eat those words!'_

Xavier made his eyes turn into a familiar green for a half a second, before looking at Jack and started the duel. Jack immediately shot a Frost Spell at Xavier, who cast it off with a flick of his wand at the last second. His partner shrieked at how close the spell had come, and Xavier just rolled his eyes quickly before shooting a plethora of spells and jinxes Hiccup's way.

Jack blocked them all quickly, and got distracted when Hiccup's hands accidentally slid down his back a bit. Xavier succeeded to land a Body-Binding Curse at Jack, who froze like a statue and fell to the ground, leaving Hiccup exposed. Xavier smirked, and everyone in the class let out a sympathetic "oooooh…" Even Bunny bit one of his furry knuckles and awaited a curse to hit Hiccup straight in the chest.

No one expected Hiccup to pull his wand out of his pocket and start shooing curse after curse at Xavier and his partner. Sure, most of them missed or weren't aimed correctly, but he was successful in catching Xavier off-guard.

"I see how it is, Hiccy!" The originally-blond boy shouted, smiling evilly. He started shooting even more curses at Hiccup, who reverted to covering himself with as many defensive spells he could think of.

"I thought I told you not to call me that!" Hiccup shouted back, laughing a little. He finally realized what he could do, and he stopped his defensive spellwork immediately, just as Xavier was shooting another spell at him. Hiccup rolled out of the way fluidly, coming up on one knee next to Jack's head. He muttered the counter-curse for the Body-Binding Curse, and instantly, Jack sat up, feeling his head.

"No fair!" Xavier yelled, and Jack instinctively threw up another spell to protect the both of them as they got onto their feet. The crowd was cheering then, and Xavier was seething with pretend rage.

"Took you long enough!" Jack quipped as Hiccup slid behind him and out his hands on his back once more.

"Sorry, I had more pressing matters to attend to." Hiccup muttered sarcastically as Jack shot well-aimed curses at Xavier.

Finally, one of Jack's Frost Spells hit Xavier's partner square in the chest. Her front was covered with snow, as if Jack threw a snowball at her instead of a spell. She yelled out of panic, and the crowd was cheering and chanting Jack's and Hiccup's name. Bunny even gave them a couple sarcastic claps as Xavier did the counter-spell on the snow.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and as people saw them in the halls, they would clap Jack's, Hiccup's and Xavier's shoulders, congratulating them on their performance in the duel. They just laughed in response, and said "Thanks!"

"Man, now that… _that_ was fun!" Jack said, throwing his head back and laughing loudly. He looked at his two friends beside him. Hiccup was looking at him and smiling, almost on the verge of laughing just as loud as Jack did, and Xavier had a wry smirk on his face, reminding Jack of their implied conversation before-hand, making his blush slightly, but not making his smile fade away.

"I was surprised no one caught you on all the times you used an original spell in the duel." Hiccup said, looking down and letting his hair cover his eyes as he let his smile grow wide, and then suppressed it again when he looked up. "I mean, you shouldn't even have an _original_ spell!" He said.

"Yeah, well…" Jack said, putting a hand on his shoulders and leaning down towards his ear. "You're not supposed to have a dragon in the castle, so I think we're pretty even, don't you think?"

Hiccup swatted him away and scoffed. "Shut up about that!" He hissed, but the smile on his lips told practically everyone that his heart wasn't that much in it. Really, it was, he was just giddy with Jack being that close…

Thinking about being close, his mind wheeled back to Potions class. Holy hell, did that really happen?! What was he thinking? Man, he must have lost it completely, if he thinks about making a move in public! Aw, man… he screwed up practically everything!

"Anyways, at least that's over and done with, right?" Xavier said, shrugging. "And now… there's the feast to worry about." They all nodded.

* * *

The three of them walked up to the room, and dropped off their bags. For good measure, they changed their clothes, because no one wanted to be stuck in their school robes for any longer than they had to be. When that was done, the three left again, this time with Toothless on their heels. They found Lauren as she was walking up the stairs to meet them.

"Hey guys!" She greeted, and Toothless hopped up into her arms, where she caught him a bit clumsily and petted his head.

"Hey Lauren!" They all said at once. The three looked at each other before they started laughing at the same time. Lauren rolled her eyes.

"So… I heard about the epic dueling session you guys had in Defense today…" Lauren said, smiling.

"People are talking about that?" Hiccup asked, a little shocked. "I didn't think it was all that important…" He muttered.

"Apparently, you guys were super amazing." Lauren said, gesturing to Jack and Hiccup, "and you were the vicious bad guy that nearly killed them both." Xavier scoffed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"I am not the bad guy over here!" Xavier said. "Why am I always the bad guy?"

"Because you're not as good-looking as me." Jack said.

"Oh, go die in a well." Xavier said, waving him off.

"Don't be like that…" Jack pouted. "You'll only die bitter and alone with all seventy-three of your cats who just happen to hate your guts." Xavier made a move, pulling his wand out of his back pocket, while Jack mirrored him. Hiccup sighed, being stuck in between them again. He threw his hands out, placing them on their  
faces.

"Stop." Hiccup said. Xavier shook his head, moving away from Hiccup's hand. Jack stuck out his tongue and licked his palm slowly. "Eww!" He whined, talking his hand away and wiping it on the front of Jack's hoodie. "That's disgusting!"

"You asked for it!" Jack said, laughing.

Lauren and Xavier just gave each other a look, not even needing words to say the things they wanted to: _"These guys are dorks! Where's the nearest broom closet?"_

"Anyways…" Lauren said, scratching Toothless behind the ears. "We should go to the Muggle Studies classroom."

"Muggle Studies?" Xavier asked, looking confused. "Why?"

"I could charge my iPod and we could listen to some music." Lauren said, shrugging as she pulled out a slim, metallic deice with a black screen out of her pocket. Jack immediately snatched it and looked at it.

"Whoa, this is really cool…" Jack said, tilting it and looking at it from all angles. "It has music?" He asked, pressing it to his ear. "I don't hear anything." He said, baffled.

"That's because it's dead, dork." Hiccup said, plucking it away from Jack's ear and giving it back to Lauren. "And I didn't know the Muggle Studies room had power sockets."

"I figured it out last year." Lauren said, as they made their way to the classroom. "It was practically my hideout. No one really knows, because, you know, they just think they're random holes in the wall, when really, they're a lot more than that."

"Holes in the walls?" Xavier asked.

"We'll show you when we get there." Hiccup muttered, and he and Lauren shared a small smile as they led their two clueless friends to the Muggle Studies classroom.

The classroom was a lot homier than Hiccup expected. There was a small desk in the corner, and large windows with flowing flowery curtains. There were desks scattered around here and there, and the floor was carpeted. There was a flat screen TV mounted onto the wall, and there were about twelve electric sockets scattered around the entire classroom. Lauren sat down next to one and immediately plugged in the charger for her iPod. The screen lit up, showing the white Apple insignia.

"Whoa!" Jack yelled, sitting down next to her and looking at the screen. "That's so cool!"

"How… How did it do that?" Xavier asked, sitting on the other side of her. Hiccup sat in front of Lauren and just laughed to himself. Toothless hopped into his lap and curled up, refusing to move.

"Electricity." Lauren stated simply. The screen came to life, showing a picture of a pink rose, that she scoffed at. She swiped her finger across the screen and scrolled through her playlist.

Music flooded the room, and Jack and Xavier jumped, staring at the iPod with wide eyes and startled expressions.

"What?" Hiccup said. "It's what it's supposed to do!"

"Hiccup." Lauren said, smiling and looking back down at her iPod. "I think these boy's need to watch some quality cat videos. Do you know the Wi-Fi password?"

"Hogwarts has Wi-Fi?" Hiccup asked. "I didn't think North knew what it was!" Lauren laughed, while Jack and Xavier followed their conversation without the vaguest idea what "Why-Fi" was. "But… considering that it's North… try 'Christmas'" Hiccup suggested.

"Of course!" She exclaimed, slapping her forehead before she started tapping away at the screen. "You're a genius, Hiccup." She said, laughing.

"Naturally." Hiccup said.

"What's a cat video?" Xavier asked.

"Hold on. Let me get on YouTube…" Lauren muttered.

"Do you have any idea what they're saying at all?!" Jack asked, looking at Xavier. Both of them looked slightly scandalized and highly confused, and Hiccup started to bust up laughing. "I'm serious! It's like you guys made up a secret language with strange sounding words." The music stopped playing.

"Get over here, you dorks." Lauren said, laughing. They all moved so they were crowding Lauren, Toothless falling to the floor with an indignant meow, and she started the video after everyone could see. A person was shooting a laser pointer on the floor, and a bright orange cat was chasing it around frantically. Jack and Xavier yelled out.

"There's a cat in there!" Jack screamed.

"You monster!" Xavier said. "Get that cat out right now!"

"Guys!" Hiccup said. "It's a video! A cat isn't _really_ stuck inside her iPod!"

"Oh…" Jack and Xavier chorused, feeling stupid.

The four, and Toothless, spent the rest of the day in there, watching random episodes of Spongebob or some other cartoon Jack and Xavier were enraptured with. Dinner came along, and all of them nearly ran to the Great Hall in anticipation; the house elves saved all the best food for Thanksgiving.

Xavier was glancing at Lauren from two tables away, which was an impressive feat to pull off, mind you. They all ate like it was their last chance, and if they could have, they would have walked out of that Hall looking like balloons that's been blown up until it exploded.

Lethargic from eating too much, Lauren bade the three goodnight, and all of they went back up to their room. Xavier took a shower before basically crawling into bed and falling fast sleep before he could even mutter a good night to anyone.

Toothless gorged himself on Icelandic Cod and smoked salmon, so he was lazily sitting by the window, not even thinking about flying. Consequently, Hiccup and Jack were far from thinking about flying either, even though the two didn't know it. Hiccup didn't make a move for his flight gear, and just laid down onto his bed and stared up at something or other. Jack was reading, of all things, but it wasn't what it seemed to be: on the inside of his Defense Against the Dark Arts book, was his letter. It was silly of him to be studying it, but something felt oddly familiar about the handwriting in general. Has he seen it before?

It wasn't long until Jack threw the book down, done with all the swimming thoughts that were going through his mind by staring at the paper. He threw an arm over his eyes and let his breathing even out, hoping that Hiccup would think he was asleep before he snuck out later.

Hiccup smiled as Jack fell "asleep." He knew it was only a matter of time. He hurriedly got out of bed and pushed his pillows under his covers, making it look like he was fast asleep to anyone who would look over. Satisfied with his work, he poked Toothless' stomach and face until green eyes opened glared at him. Hiccup placed a finger at his mouth, telling the cat-dragon to be quiet as he motioned them to leave. Hiccup moved silently across the room, Toothless at his heels, and the two of them slipped out of the room and down the stairs, opening the Portrait Hole gently, and then, by wand-light, they made their way to the Astronomy Tower.

Jack sighed as he sat back up in his bed. He looked over at Hiccup, to see he was already curled up and fast asleep. He smiled, as he reached for his wand and checked the time. 11:58. Good timing, Jack. He got up, and didn't even bother with shoes as he drew his hood up, his fingers leaving a thin layer of frost of the edge of his hood. He wandered out of his room, and the Commom Room leisurely, taking his time.

If they really wanted to see him, they would wait a while longer, am I right?

The halls were oddly silent, and it was funny to see that the usually lively portraits that hung on the walls of Hogwarts were asleep and snoring lightly. Jack had to hold in a laugh.

Jack took a detour here and there, knowing that some professors did night watches here and there to assure that the students were, in fact, asleep and in their Houses. And… he also didn't want whoever sent him the letter to think that he was all that eager to see them. Because, honestly, he wasn't. He was just curious.

Hiccup sat at the edge of the Astronomy Tower, his legs dangling over the edge of the floor as he looked out over the grounds. No one was here yet, which was odd, because if they really wanted him to meet up with them, wouldn't they have tried to be on time? It didn't make much sense, but then again, maybe they were just shy… or nervous.

Nervous? Who would be nervous about meeting up with a scrawny talking fishbone like him? The thought itself almost made him laugh. Instead, he petted Toothless along his back as he looked out at the way the moon's light reflected onto the Black Lake, making it shine brighter than anything he's ever seen before… well, besides Jack's smile.

Wait, what? That was waaaaay too corny!

He snorted, and rolled his eyes while shaking his head at himself.

There was a clatter on the stairs, and Hiccup stopped breathing. This was it. He started to stand up, slipping his feet from in between the safety railing and onto the wooden floor, when he saw a familiar silhouette at the door. His foot caught on the railing and he stumbled, almost falling. Screw 'almost.' He fell.

"Hiccup?"

"Jack?"

"What are you doing here?!" They both said, looking at each other like they've just seen a ghost. Toothless rolled his eyes at the two of them, and lazily walked to Hiccup, nuzzling his face to make sure he was okay.

"I thought you were asleep!" Jack said, looking behind him, almost nervously, before walking towards Hiccup and heaving him to his feet.

"I thought _you_ were asleep!" Hiccup said pointedly. "Wha-what are you doing here?" He said, trying to play it smooth but it didn't work out so well.

"I was supposed to be meeting this stupid person that said they had a crush on me." Jack muttered. Hiccup's heart fell, but then suspicion was sparked in his mind.

"That's weird." Hiccup said, his eyebrows furrowing. "I was doing the same thing."

"You think we were set up?" Jack asked.

"I was right!" Hiccup said, pointing his finger at Jack's face. "I told you, didn't I? I said that something wasn't really right here!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, okay you were right." Jack said, rolling his eyes at me. "But seriously, who would do this? It's insane." Hiccup rolled his eyes at him, and huffed.

"Gee, sounds like someone else I know…" He said, tapping his chin, feigning thought as he looked around pointedly before looking at Jack.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Oh, nothing, I'm just saying that your pranks are as equally pointless as this," Hiccup said.

"But this isn't pointless!" Jack said. "Someone could have purposely did this to get us out of Gryffindor Tower and get us in trouble! You know that they've cracked down on the watches!" Hiccup surged forward and smacked a hand onto Jack's mouth.

"That's why you need to _shut up_." Hiccup hissed. "Okay?" Jack just nodded. "Good. So… I'm guessing that I can assume no one else is coming?"

(Jack choked mentally, and Hiccup tried not to think wrong about how that sentence sounded… Just so you know.)

"I can assume so." Jack said.

"**How thick can the both of you get?!**" Toothless exclaimed, hissing slightly as he sauntered up to Jack. Sleeping off food comas actually worked, I guess, because Toothless looked like he could hop onto Jack's face and scratch him up so bad that Madame Pomfrey would cringe (and she never cringes. Do you know how much terrible injuries she's seen?!).

"What are you even talking about?!" Jack defended.

"Toothless, what's wrong?" Hiccup said, hauling the cat into his arms and holding him away from Jack. "You okay bud?" He asked gently. The cat-dragon only looked over Hiccup's shoulder at Jack and let out a growl that came out a lot more like a hiss than anything else.

"**I am not okay!**" Toothless exclaimed, knowing that Hiccup couldn't hear him. "**Lauren was right! You two need some help!**" With that, he hopped out of Hiccup's arms and darted out the door.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled, and Jack was the one that smacked a hand over his mouth this time.

"Shut up!" Jack said through clenched teeth, hoping no one was close enough to hear them. "He said something about Lauren, he's probably going to her." Jack removed his hand once he said that, and was greeted with the sight of Hiccup chewing on his bottom lip worriedly.

"Okay… but wait, how's he going to get to her? Their common room-" Hiccup protested before Jack chuckled.

"Hiccup, this is Toothless we're talking about." Jack said, laughing slightly. "He'll probably just paw and meow at the door until someone wakes up and lets him in."

"So true." Hiccup said, chuckling. "So…"

"So…?" Jack asked, walking over and leaning on the railing of the Tower.

"Don't do that, you'll kill yourself." Hiccup muttered. "You were hoping that your crush would come and confess to you, am I right?" He asked, pulling on a smile and walking over to Jack, sitting down and returning to his position before the white-haired boy decided to show up.

"Actually," Jack said lightly as he sat down next to Hiccup. "I know they wouldn't do something so _stupid_, so I was going to just show up and tell whoever sad-sap it was that I wasn't interested."

"Oh?" Hiccup asked. "And that's why you were late? A-assuming that they said for you to meet them at midnight, too." He added the last part nervously, hoping that he didn't sound like he was the one that sent the letter. That would just be awkward in itself! There was no way Hiccup was that stupid!

"Yeah, I was hoping that they would give up and leave by the time I got here." Jack said, rubbing his neck. "What about you? Why were you so punctual?" He said, making a funnily pinched expression and moving his face closer to Hiccup's. The smaller boy smacked his hand onto his face and pushed him away.

"Because I was trying to be nice?" Hiccup suggested. Jack just raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine. I was looking at my options."

"You're options?" Jack asked.

"Yes, my options. Just in case some things don't work out." Hiccup said quietly.

"Things?" Jack asked. Hiccup shoved his shoulder, as if to say, 'Yes, things.' Jack just chuckled at him. "Okay, okay, geez. So…"

"So…?" Hiccup asked. Jack just blinked at him. He didn't have anything to say in the first place. The smaller of the two figured out how close they were and cleared his throat. "We should, uh, get back to the room before we get in trouble." He said quietly, even though no one else was around.

"Right." Jack said, but neither of them moved a muscle to get up. They stayed there for a while longer, before Hiccup yawned and Jack had to practically drag him back to their room. They mumbled "good night" as they climbed into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

**STATUS: FAIL**

***Amortentia: the most powerful love potion in the world. Makes you smell what you are most attracted to (Half-Blood Prince, JK Rowling) **

**This was seriously fun to write :D Thanks for reading guys! I hope you liked the really long chapter! Please review!**

**Love ya!**

**-HB**


	14. Chapter 13: Anger and Steam

**This doesn't make anything better. I'm evil, and I'm taking it out on all of you lovely people. I'm so sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Do I need to say this again? Really? I own nothing.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Anger and Steam

Lauren woke up the next morning, with Toothless sitting on top of her stomach. She screamed, and Toothless hurried to place a paw onto her mouth, effectively shutting her up. She sat up, dumping Toothless unceremoniously into her lap, and looked at the cat, baffled.

"Toothless!" She said, petting his head. "What are you doing here?!" Toothless just meowed.

"Lauren?" One of her roommates asked. "I didn't know you had a cat."

"I don't." Lauren said. "Toothless, stay right here. I'm going to change. Okay?" Toothless responded with a little nod. She hurriedly grabbed her school robes and rushed to the bathroom. In about ten minutes, she came back out and threw her pajamas in her trunk. Lauren sat on her bed and pulled on her socks and shoes. Toothless meowed at her.

"Shut the damn cat up." Another roommate grumbled.

"Go back to sleep." Lauren said, as she scooped Toothless into her arms and leaving. She put him on the floor after they got out of her common room, and he pawed at her leg before taking of running. "Toothless! Wait!" She said, running after him. "Oh, Hiccup's gonna _kill_ me!" She sighed.

The black haired cat led her to the Great Hall, where Jack, Hiccup and Xavier were bickering about something or other. Laure sighed as she walked up to him.

"Hey, Hiccup?" She asked. "Missing something?"

"Bud!" Hiccup said, picking him up and petting him. "You had me so worried. Don't do that ever again!" Toothless just meowed in response.

"Morning, Lauren!" Xavier said cheerfully. He passed her a glass. "Pumpkin juice?"

"Thanks." Lauren said, taking the glass.

"Hey, Hic. I forgot my bag. Wanna come with me to get it?" Xavier said. Hiccup just shrugged. Before they left though, Xavier looked over his shoulder at Lauren and gave her a wink that said "_Ask Jack what happened last night_." Lauren just nodded.

"So… Hiccup." Xavier asked. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess." Hiccup said, crossing his arms across over his chest. "You want to know how last night went with the anonymous-letter-sender. Am I right?"

"Pretty much." Xavier said, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Well, they didn't even show up." Hiccup said. "It was some sort of prank."

"You're kidding me." Xavier said, slapping his hand to his forehead and looking at Hiccup. "You're telling me right now that absolutely no one showed up. _At all_." Hiccup squirmed under his gaze.

"Jack was there." Hiccup said. "Well, more like someone asked him to meet them there at the same time."

"And?"

"And what?" Hiccup asked, looking down at his feet watched them as the shoelaces bounced with every step. "Jack and I were set up. It was some prank to get us out of the Tower and into some trouble. Some Slytherrin probably wanted us to get detention because of a prank last year or something."

"If that was the case, they would have sent one to me too!" Xavier said. Hiccup looked up, stunned at the anger in his voice. Xavier's hair was a deep red, and his skin looked extremely sunburned. "You really think this is a prank? Do you have absolutely anything in that head at all?"

"Well, what the heck was I supposed to think?" Hiccup asked. "That _Jack_ was the one that sent me the letter?" Xavier opened his mouth to yell at him, but then he closed it, settling to glare at Hiccup instead. "You're insane." Hiccup muttered, taking Xavier's silence as a 'yes.'

"How am I the one that's insane?" Xavier said, growing redder and redder by the second. "You can't even get a hint when the facts hit you right in the face!"

"What are you even talking about?" Hiccup said.

"Nothing." Xavier said, as they got to the Portrait Hole. "Fucking nothing." His skin was an angry red and his face was basically a tomato, and a thick trail of steam was coming out of both his ears.

* * *

"How'd it go last night?" Lauren asked Jack. He looked up and gave her a baffled look. "You know… with the person who sent the letter?"

"Oh…" Jack said, running a hand through his hair. "They didn't even show up. Funny, huh?" He said laughing.

"What?!" Lauren said. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." He replied. "When I got up there, all I saw was Hiccup." Lauren jaw dropped and she ran a hand through her hair, tugging at it as Jack kept talking. "He got a letter too."

"Really?" Lauren said. "And it asked the same thing?"

"Yeah…" Jack said. "That whole thing was just a prank to get us in trouble. I should have seen it coming but… oh well." He shrugged.

"So what happened?" She said. "With Hiccup, I mean."

"Oh, what? We were just… talking." Jack said. "Why?"

"Nothing. I thought something happened because, well, I woke up to Toothless sitting on me." Lauren said. She tried not to get her hopes up about anything, because let's be honest here: besides class, when is Toothless ever away from Hiccup? She tried not to think too much into it, but she couldn't help it. Jack just laughed.

"That's Toothless for you." Jack said. "But he did say something about us needing help yesterday…" He said, so lost in thought that he didn't notice he was thinking aloud.

"What?" Lauren asked, baffled.

"What?" Jack repeated. "Nothing."

"You two _do_ need some serious help." Lauren muttered. "Well, I'm going to get to class. See you later, okay?" She said, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Yeah, okay."

* * *

Classes were an ultimate bore, but when they were finally over, everyone was relieved. Jack and Hiccup talked like nothing happened, and Xavier was getting red again, and not in a good way. These guys were clueless! After five freaking years, they should have recognized each other's handwriting on those letters. He couldn't believe they were being so stupid. He spotted Lauren in the halls, waving at him.

"See you later, guys." He said, trying to keep his anger out of his voice for a while.

"'Kay, bye." Jack said, before going back to talking with Hiccup. Xavier pursed his lips.

"Oh. My. God." Lauren said, seeing the way Xavier looked. His eyes were nearly all black, the original color of his brown eyes gone and replaced with the blackness of night. The roots of his hair was red, and the color was traveling up his hair quickly. And, once again, he looked extremely sunburned, even though he'd only been outside for Herbology that day.

"Tel me about it." Xavier said, rubbing his temples. "Did he tell you the same story?" He asked.

"Yeah." Lauren said. "I guess they got it sort of right, though. It wasn't a prank, but it _was_ planned…"

"How can two people be such idiots?!" Xavier said, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's not even funny anymore!"

"Xavier-"

"They should have recognized each other's handwriting on those stupid letters-"

"Hey, they were not-!"

"They should be saying at least something to each other-!"

"Xavier, calm-"

"Fuck! Even hints at this point will do-!"

"XAVIER." Lauren practically yelled, grabbing his shoulders. He stopped his rant immediately and fell absolutely silent, breathing hard because of all his yelling. "Calm down." She said, taking a deep breath and moving away from him.

"Sorry." He mumbled, his hair slowly turning back to normal and his eyes were brown again after a couple blinks. "Yelling about it isn't going to do anything."

"No, it's not." Lauren said. "But it's fine." She added quickly, accepting his apology.

"On to Plan C?" Xavier asked, rubbing his face and shooting her a smile.

"On to Plan C." She said, nodding.

"Which would be….?" Xavier asked, looking at her expectantly. Lauren just rolled her eyes.

"Operation Mistletoe."

* * *

**Yeah... this chapter was depressingly short. I'm sorry. **

**I hope you aren't too mad at me for the crappy update to not leave a review! **

**I love you guys, and I promise that the next update will be longer!**

**Till then, byeeeez... *hugs***

**-HB**


	15. Chapter 14: What The Hell!

Chapter Fourteen: What The Hell?!

**Jack's POV**

"Okay, so tell me again why you can't even step foot in the Common Room?" Hiccup asked me, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me skeptically. I sighed and rolled my eyes dramatically.

"Xavier will most likely try to kill me the next time he sees my face." I said. Hiccup laughed. "This isn't funny, Frecks! This is serious! He's so freaking furious!"

"Well, what did you do this time?" He asked. I fell silent.

"Well, um… you see…" I said, trying to avoid talking about it. "I might have… teased him about Lauren a bit too far. And he was mad at me before this so…"

"You are such a genius sometimes, you know?" Hiccup said, shaking his head at me. "Come on." He said, pulling at my sleeve.

"Where are you going?" I asked. "Seriously, all I need was a blanket or two and a pillow and I would be good for the night." Okay, sleeping outside on those marble floors didn't sound like the best option, but I didn't want to be killed either. It wasn't my fault Xavier couldn't take a joke…

"You really want to sleep on the floor?" Hiccup asked, looking over his shoulder at me. I shook my head. "Okay, good, because then I would have asked if Xavier hit you on the head or not."

"Hey!" I said, catching up to him.

"Just saying." Hiccup defended, putting his hands up in the air.

"You still haven't answered my question." I said. "Where are we going?"

"But you were only talking about me the first time you asked." Hiccup said. I pinched his cheek, causing him to make a face and knock my arm away. "And we're going somewhere where you can sleep without being killed, because you know the moment Xavier walks out of that Common Room, he's going to kill you."

"Very true." I said, still not understanding where he was taking me in the first place. He just kept on tugging and my shirt and telling me to hurry up. And then… he stopped right in the middle of the hall. I bumped into him, and he shot me a glare before closing his eyes. "Uh, Freckles? What are you-?"

Just then, a doorknob appeared on the wall. A pattern bloomed across the marble and soon it was a black screen door. Just… poof!

"What the hell?!" I yelled, taking a step back. I took a breath and was about to say more when Hiccup slapped one hand on my mouth and grabbed the front of my shirt with the other. He pulled me towards the door and wrenched it open with one hand. Then he pushed me.

I literally thought that he had gone psycho and that he was killing me by bashing my head against the wall. I let out a (manly) scream before I heard a door slam and… oh, there we go, Hiccup's hand smacked onto my mouth again.

"Will you please stop that?" Hiccup asked, annoyed, but I could tell he wanted to laugh his heart out. I stopped screaming and looked around, my eyes going wide.

I was in a room that was dimly lit, but a fire was going and there was a huge window that was letting in a whole ton of moonlight. There were two beds and a couch. Along with this… weird, rectangular box thing. What was it called again…? A TV! There we go! And there was another door, leading off to what I think is a bathroom. It was huge.

"Did… Did I just walk through a wall?" I asked, feeling stupid. Hiccup laughed then, the high and clear sound bouncing off the walls and bringing a stupid smile to my lips. He only laughed like that when something was really funny.

"No, stupid." Hiccup said through his laughs. He tried to push at my shoulder but instead he used me to steady himself. "This is the Room of Requirement." He said, still laughing, but he was calming down a bit.

"The what?"

"Seriously, has anyone read Hogwarts: A History?" He asked, throwing his hands up.

"Obviously not." I said, shrugging. "But this is so cool!" I ran to the huge window, and the moment my fingers touched it, ice made its way onto the surface. I tried not to think of anything important, because then the ice would make a pattern. I looked out the window to get a huge view of the night's sky and the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. Man, I wish we could go flying…

"It's alright." Hiccup said shrugging. "Mind if I stay, too? I don't feel like getting blasted by a million questions from Xavier once I step into the room." I looked around, to see Hiccup moving towards the fire, rubbing his hands together. I took my hands off the glass immediately and shook them off. I guess I was making the room too cold.

"Yeah, sure, of course." I said almost immediately. I nearly smacked myself. I didn't sound desperate, did I? I mean, of course not, it's just the two of us… in an enchanted room… alone… what could possibly happen?

NOTHING. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. JACK, JUST STOP RIGHT NOW.

"Okay." Hiccup said. "Oh my god." He said, laughing.

"What?" I asked, walking over to him.

"These movies are my favorite!" Hiccup said, getting up and moving to the stacks of… whatever they were. "You want to watch one?" He asked me.

"Sure? I guess?" I said. Hiccup laughed, and popped in a movie. We both sat down on the couch as the screen on the TV came to life.

"You can't freak out." Hiccup warned, shaking a finger at me. "People aren't really in the TV."

"I know that," I sneered, then added as an afterthought, "now at least." Hiccup laughed again as the movie started.

The movie was called "Silent Movie"***** and yes, it was a silent movie. There was almost absolutely no sound whatsoever, except for the background music. I didn't know what the heck was going on half the time, but Hiccup's laugh was infectious, and I had to laugh along with him. The movie was pretty funny, at least, and Hiccup was actually crying when the movie was over, he was laughing that hard.

"Hiccup… Hiccup, you need to breathe, you know… that's a part of life." I said, shaking his shoulder lightly. He fell onto the empty space of the couch, laughing louder, his head near my legs as his feet dangled off the edge of the couch.

"I… I can't…" Hiccup gasped.

"Calm. Down!" I said, leaning over and putting my face in his. Okay, bad move. Wrong idea. Abort the mission! I repeat! Abort the goddamn mission! Hiccup's giggles died down slowly, and when he looked up, he saw me inches away from him.

"Oh gods!" Hiccup yelled, jumping and pushing me away from him. I laughed a bit. "Gods, Jack, don't do that!" He said, sitting up and turning to face me.

"Well, it got you to stop freaking laughing!" I said.

"Only because you made me have a heart attack!" Hiccup said, running a hand through his hair. "What time is it?"

"Does it matter? It's Friday night!" I said. Hiccup rolled his eyes at me and fished through his robe's pocket for his wand. It was two minutes past midnight.

"Should we go to sleep?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"Could we watch another movie?" I asked. "They're pretty cool… for a Muggle thing."

"Oh yeah sure, 'for a Muggle thing' my ass." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes at me. "Most of these are classics, but I think there's some newer ones here somewhere…" he muttered, getting off the couch and going to the stack of movies. Then he held one up. "Oh, screw newer movies. Ever watched Young Frankenstein?"******

"Huh?" I asked. Hiccup laughed.

"Nothing. This movie is great." Hiccup said, already laughing again. "You can't blame me when really dirty jokes are cracked, though." He warned.

"Oh, so this is that kind of movie." I said, nodding. Hiccup slapped my arm as the movie started.

"Not like that!" He said. "Just… just watched the movie!" He said, and I saw his cheeks were super red. I laughed.

By the end of the movie, I was laughing so hard that I was crying, and I was laying down on the couch, my head right next to Hiccup's lap. He was freaking dying, like, he couldn't breathe at all. And he was snorting, which I thought was really fucking cute.

"Oh my… oh my god!" I wheezed. Hiccup just laughed louder. "I'll never think of opera singing the same!" Hiccup died. That's it. He fell off the couch, and muttered a quick 'ow' before promptly dying again and laying on the floor in the fetal position.

"I know!" Hiccup practically yelled.

It was a while before either of us were calm down enough to have an actual conversation that wasn't broken by laughter. By that time, it was about two in the morning.

"Okay, we should get to bed or we'll be zombies in the morning." I said, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, okay." Hiccup said. "Everything's in the bathroom, I guess." He said, picking himself up off the floor and clutching his stomach. "Dang, it hurts." He whined. I poked his nose.

"Pretty much." I said, getting up and feeling the dull ache in my stomach from laughing too hard. I walked to the bathroom and my jaw practically dropped to the floor. There was a huge bath and a sink and a toilet, and there were two sets of clothes on top of the sink. One was blue with the other was green. I shut the door behind me as I took the blue pajamas and pulled them on. It was just a white tank top and some blue plaid pants, but they fit me perfectly. I brushed my teeth really fast and then I walked out of the bathroom and climbed into one of the beds. Hiccup went into the bathroom after me.

Thinking about this whole thing was just a bit weird. I mean, yeah, Hiccup and I shared a room for five years, but Xavier was always there with us… well, except for that one time he was stuck in the Hospital Wing because of Quidditch, but that's beside the point. I know it wouldn't be any different, but it would still be kind of weird. I shook my head and turned onto my side, facing away from the window.

Just then, Hiccup came out of the bathroom, dressed in almost the exact same pajamas, except his tank top was black and his pants were green.

"Hey, night." He muttered, crawling into his bed and snuggling up against his pillow as if it was on instinct.

"Good night." I practically had to force myself to say.

I also had to force my eyes shut, to keep from creepily staring at Hiccup's sleeping face, and I had to force myself to sleep even though all I wanted to do was think about Hiccup… After a while, I guess I won, because I didn't remember anything else after that…

* * *

…Until I woke up the next morning with something next to me.

I was too groggy to even question it at first, and I thought I was still dreaming or hallucinating or something. But when I started to wake up a bit more, I felt something soft underneath my chin and I felt my arm wrapped around something.

Nothing really clicked when I looked down and saw Hiccup under my arm, sleeping like the dead and smiling a bit. It took me a couple minutes, before my eyes widened and my mouth fell open. In my head I was screaming, "_WHAT THE FUCK? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT_?" but on the outside I was perfectly quiet. How? When? What? I couldn't even make sense of my thoughts, they were going so fast. _What was going on_?

I slowly removed my arm from his waist and scooted away.

"Hiccup?" I asked, my vice filled with sleep. "Hiccup, wake up."

"Mmph." Hiccup groaned.

"Freckles. Get up. Now." I said. He opened his eyes sleepily.

"What? Jack, what are you-?" Hiccup started, and then he realized that _he_ was in _my_ bed. "What the hell?!" He yelled, flailing around until he fell off the edge of the bed and was sprawled out on the floor. "Ow…" He said, rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but… what the-?" Hiccup started to ask before his voice trailed off. He just shook his head and picked himself off the floor. "Sorry." He muttered, not even looking at me.

"It's uh…" I started to say. _What was it? Was it fine? Oka? Great? Funny? Adorable? Everything I've been wanting ever since I found out about my stupid crush on the dork? WHAT EVEN ARE ADJECTIVES?!_ "It's fine." _Damn, that sounds lame_. I wanted to slap myself, but if I did, what would Hiccup think about that? So I didn't.

Damn. This was stupid.

"Okay." Hiccup said weakly. "I'm going to go change." He said going to the bathroom. I didn't say anything in response and the moment he shut the door, I shoved my face into one of the pillows and screamed.

Why was this such a big deal? OH RIGHT, BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING HICCUP. How the hell did he get into my bed in the first place?! What is going on?

"ARRRRGH!" I yelled, pressing the pillow on my face harder, muffling my scream. Then I threw the pillow away and looked down. A pile of clothes was on my bed. I blinked. Weird… I pulled on the clothes quickly, seeing that they were only some ratty brown pants and ended mid-calf and a slightly worn blue sweater… sort of like the ones I have back in our room… This Room was weird. Either house elves brought me the clothes, or this Room is seriously creepy. I looked, and there were no shoes, which I didn't mind at all. Still, I got down on my knees and looked under the bed anyways. Hey, you never know!

"Uh… what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. I sat up and smiled at him. His expression was priceless. He was wearing an overlong, long-sleeve green tunic and greyish pants with fur boots and a matching fur vest. It looked good on him, but then again he almost always wears that, but I'm sure it wasnt the best time to be checking him out at the moment.

"Looking for shoes." I said.

"Like you wear shoes," Hiccup said, laughing.

"Give me the benefit of the doubt over here!" I said. "I was just wondering whether or not the Room would give me shoes to go along with the clothes that creepily came out of nowhere."

"Jack, it's called the Room of _Requirement_ for a reason." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. "It only gives you what you need, not what you want." He looked like he was about to say more, but then he stopped, and his face went red again.

What did he mean by that? Now that I thought about it… It only gives you what you need… So then why the hell was Hiccup in my bed? Did the… _FUCK_. Did the Room actually know that I like him? Did it just pluck him out of his bed and put him into mine?! _WHAT THE HELL, ROOM OF REQUIREMENT?!_

"So… should we go to breakfast, or do you think that Xavier will still kill me if I get in a fifteen foot radius of him?" I asked quickly, glancing at the Room and making sure it doesn't do anything else.

"I'm pretty sure he'll be more worried than angry at the moment." Hiccup said, laughing.

Fucking shove me in a well and let me die. I totally forgot about Xavier. What the heck will he think when we walk into the Great Hall together, saying we spent the night in the Room of Requirement? He won't stop making fun of me until… oh, wait. HE'LL ALWAYS MAKE FUN OF ME.

"Right." I said. "Let's just go, before all the Belgium waffles are gone."

"Okay, Mr. Bossy." Hiccup teased, laughing at me. He walked over to the door, and I followed him. We walked out and the door disappeared… and we were right in front of the Great Hall.

"How did we-?" I started to ask.

"Don't complain. At least we don't have to walk down a whole ton of stairs." Hiccup said, grabbing my sweater and tugging me into the Great Hall.

"Hiccup!" Lauren yelled, hopping up out of her chair and running towards us. "Jack! God, I was worried sick!" She hugged both of us at the same time. "Where were you?" She said, letting us go and looking at us.

"Um…" I said, biting the inside of my lip as we walked towards out table.

"I would like to know." Xavier said with a sly grin on his face. I almost slapped him for it. "I mean, when you guys didn't show up last night, I got sort of worried."

"Aww, X, I didn't know you had a heart." I said.

"Shut it." He warned.

"Guys…" Hiccup groaned. "Could you guys not fight for one day? Is that too much to ask?"

"Apparently it is." Lauren answered him. "But… you guys still haven't answered our question."

"Oh well… Xavier was going to kill Jack, and so Frosty was gonna sleep out in the hallway, so I just took him to the Room of Requirement. And… I really didn't want to be bombarded with questions when I got back to the room, so I just stayed with Jack." Hiccup explained quickly, like he only had about twenty seconds to explain. Lauren blinked, processing it all, and Xavier just looked at me and winked.

"Okay then." Xavier said. "So… who wants to play Quidditch? Season's gonna start soon and we need to get back into practice." He said that looking directly at me, but I knew he was inviting the other two too.

"Sure, I'll come along." Lauren said. "I like Quidditch."

"I'll give it another shot." Hiccup said, shrugging. I nearly laughed out loud. Playing Quidditch was a thing of ours during the past couple of years, and let's just say Hiccup was just as much as graceful on a broom as he is on the ground. Seriously, it was almost funny to watch him. He tried out for the Gryffindor team with us multiple times, and they always cut him. I could see why.

"Cool." Xavier said. "Now hurry up! Someone might steal it from us!"

"X, calm down." Hiccup said. "No one's barely even up right now, let alone thinking about playing Quidditch." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly, and I snorted.

"Whatever." Xavier mumbled.

* * *

A couple minutes later, we were picking out spare brooms from the broom cupboards, and getting a lecture from Madame Hooch about broom safety and good sportsmanship. Xavier and I heaved the box out into the field. We let the Bludgers go, and we each got a Beater's bat just in case.

"Okay, so, teams." Jack said, smiling. "Xavier and me versus Lauren and Hiccup."

"That's not fair!" Lauren and Hiccup said together.

"Yeah, man, I'll have to agree." Xavier said. "Lauren and Hiccup haven't had as much experience as us. That'll be a set-up if you played like that." Jack pouted.

"I know!" Lauren said. "How about me and Xavier, and Hiccup and Jack?" They all looked at each other. And then the shrugged.

"Okay."

"Fine with me."

"Sure."

"Perfect!"

And so, the game began. Since they didn't have anyone to toss up the Quaffle, they did a quick round of rock-paper-scissors for it (Lauren was shocked to know that Xavier and Jack actually knew the game, but it turns out that Hiccup taught it to them a couple years back). Hiccup won, so they took to the air while Hiccup had the reddish ball tucked in the nook of his arm.

"You know how to play, right?" Jack asked him, smiling. Hiccup would have punched him in the arm if he didn't sway on his broom at that exact moment. He gave a little yell, and Jack had to laugh, putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him out.

"Of course I know how to play." Hiccup said. "I've only been watching you two play for four years now."

"Okay, good." Jack said, smiling. "Just please don't fall like last year." He added, smirking.

"I'm not going to fall!" Hiccup yelled. "Actually… this is a lot like riding Toothless…" He muttered under his breath.

"Hey!" Xavier called out. "Are you guys done talking? Because we've got a crowd!" He was right; most people liked to hang out in the Quidditch stands on the weekends because it was a wide-open space, outside, and hey, maybe you can watch a small game. It was pretty fun for everyone if there was the right atmosphere. And now, about twenty people were in the stands, chattering about who was playing and who they thought would win.

"Right!" Jack yelled.

"Ready?!" Lauren said. "And… GO!"

They were all moving by then. Jack moved to protect Hiccup from the obvious defense that Xavier and Lauren were going to put up, and Hiccup pushed himself into a steep dive. Lauren ducked down to follow him, and Xavier raced towards the goal posts, hoping that he could reach it in time to defend them. The dive was too steep, and Lauren pulled out of it, scared that she was going to crash into the ground. Hiccup, on the other hand, pulled out of the dive at the last second, his toes, brushing the grass beneath him as he flew.

"Throw it here!" Jack yelled. Hiccup brought himself up to a normal height and tossed it to Jack. His arm needed a lot of work, but that dive was note-worthy. Jack caught the ball, and raced towards Xavier. He tossed the Quaffle in the right post, and just like that… Score one for Hiccup and Jack. Xavier groaned and swooped down to catch the Quaffle before it hit the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Xavier yelled at Hiccup, before passing the ball to Lauren. They didn't even stop their game for a moment as she dodged both Jack and Hiccup and started flying as fast as she could down the field. Jack caught up to her, and wrestled for the Quaffle. They were fighting for a good minute before Lauren bent down and bit Jack's knuckle.

"OW!" Jack screamed, letting go. Lauren laughed loudly.

"Whoops!" She said, looking over her shoulder at him. Then the Quaffle was plucked easily out of her grip. "Wha-?!" She screamed, looking forward again to see Hiccup's upside-down face in front of her.

"Whoops!" Hiccup said, laughing as he flipped upright, turned around on a dime, and flew in the opposite direction.

"Yeah! Go Freckles!" Jack yelled. Lauren slapped the back of his head as she flew after Hiccup.

"Oh, no you don't…" Xavier muttered, flying straight in front of Hiccup. "Where'd you learn to fly, Hiccup?" He mused, watching the decisions and possibilities flash behind Hiccup's green eyes.

"Not from you, obviously!" The auburn-haired male shot back, before freezing in mid-air.

"Whoa!" Xavier yelled.

"Hiccup!" Jack yelled, fear obvious in his voice.

Hiccup just let a grin flash across his face for a split second before pulling up on his broom and shooting upwards. He then easily threw the ball-like object into the goal post. Jack blinked. That really wasn't all that extraordinary, but that did take guts to do.

"We're switching teams!" Lauren said. "I'll take Hiccup while you both go and do whatever it is Quidditch boys do." She grinned.

"What?!" Jack yelled. "No way!"

"He's your ticket to victory! Of course you aren't going to want to switch teams!" Xavier argued. Hiccup snatched the Quaffle off the ground and tucked in under his arm before flying towards them.

"Why is it such a big deal, again?" Hiccup asked, looking around at them.

"Because you got freaking good!" Xavier said, pushing his temple with his index finger. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"Well… I guess it's sort of like… Toothless…" Hiccup said quietly.

"You cheater!"

"What does your cat have anything to do with this?"

"I knew it!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Hiccup said, moving his arms around as best he could without dropping the Quaffle. "That is not cheating."

"Yes it is!" Xavier argued.

"What does Toothless have to do with this?" Lauren asked again, louder this time hoping that someone would answer her question. Xavier, Jack and Hiccup all shared a look. Then, Hiccup nodded.

"Well, Toothless… isn't what he looks like." Jack said, hesitantly. "There's no real way of explaining this easy without showing you…"

"Well, then show me!" Lauren said.

"We literally just started the game." Xavier said, throwing his hands in the air before letting them fall. "We can't just leave now."

"Oh, come on, we can play another day." Lauren said. "I want to know what the heck you guys are talking about!"

"Well, I can't show you now, anyways." Hiccup said. "We might as well finish the game and then go find him. Okay?"

"Okay." The other three said.

"So… we're playing to how much?" Jack asked, smirking.

* * *

**Hiccup's POV**

The score was 60 to 60 before the crowd of people started yelling at us that it was time for dinner.

"We should probably get going, guys." I said, getting the Quaffle from Xavier and stopped in the center of the field… well, above the center of the field. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Freckles, we could get one more score in there!" Jack said, shoving my shoulder. I wobbled a bit but I steadied myself and then shot him a mini-glare. Jack just laughed and winked at me. Holy hell, what the heck was that all about? Gods dammit all, now I'm going red. Shit. Fuck you, Jack Frost… wait, I SHOULD NOT BE THINKING ABOUT THAT. _Geez!_

"We've got to go to dinner before all the good stuff is gone." Xavier said.

"By the looks of it, everything will be gone if we don't leave now." Lauren said, craning her neck and looking at the castle. People were already rushing in.

"Ugh. Fine." Jack said, giving up on trying to win. We got back on solid ground, and I literally felt like falling over. Lauren hooked her arm through mine, keeping me steady. I smiled at her as Jack and Xavier caught the Bludgers and wrestled them into the box. We took our brooms back to the cupboard.

"Nice game you all played out there." Madame Hooch said, making us all jump.

"Thanks, Madame Hooch." Xavier said, grinning.

"I think all of you should try out for your respective teams." She said. "Especially you, Haddock."

"Me?" I asked. She nodded. I didn't really think I was all that good. I was just goofing off out there, it's not like I'm going to fly like that in an actual game…

"We will!" Lauren said, smiling.

"Good. You all go eat now." Madame Hooch said, turning away from us.

"Yes Madame Hooch!" We all said, and then we headed towards the Great Hall.

"You really thinking about joining the team?" Jack asked, winding an arm around my shoulders and looking down at me. He was smiling, and his voice sounded like he was about to laugh any second now. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I've been trying out for three years now," I said, ducking away from his arm, "and I didn't even have a chance then. I don't think I'll try my luck." Even though it would be a good excuse to be around Jack more… but I'm already with him 24/7, why does it matter? I can survive without him.

"Okay, _Madame Hooch_ said you should try out." Jack said, looking at me seriously, but he was smiling anyways. "I don't know about you, but I would take that as a compliment. You should totally do it." How could he say that with so much conviction?

"Fine, I'll think about it." I muttered.

"Great. This season's going to be awesome. And we're totally winning the Quidditch Cup." Jack said.

"With all three of us on the team? Hell yeah we are!" Xavier said excitedly.

"Excuse me, I'm sure us Hufflepuffs would kick you guys out of the competition in no time." Lauren said, rolling her eyes.

"In your dreams!" Jack said. "Your team hasn't beat us in over ten years!"

"As if! We could cream you guys in a matter of two seconds if we really wanted to!" Lauren said.

"I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be the nice ones…" Xavier muttered to me. I laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked.

"You two are stupid." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Whatever." Lauren said as we reached the Great Hall. "Wait up for me, okay? You still need to show me that thing about Toothless!" I groaned. I hoped with all the banter that she would forget. I waved as she went to the Hufflepuff table.

"HA!" Jack said as we sat down. "Lucky break, huh, X?" He said, laughing.

"What do you mean?" Xavier asked.

"You being on the same team together. What else would I be talking about?" Jack asked him, shoving his shoulder.

"And how is that considered lucky, exactly?" Xavier said.

"Oh, you know…" Jack said, chuckling under his breath. "Teamwork… communication… her figuring out that you two make _such_ a great team!" He said in an obviously fake voice.

"I could say the same thing about you, idiot…" Xavier mumbled, shoving a huge bite of beef stew into his mouth.

"He has a point." I said, smiling. "Why don't you just tell her already?" I asked. Xavier glared at me.

"Who's side are you on?" He asked.

"I'm only saying." I said, shrugging. "You obviously like her, so just do something."

"Oh yes." Xavier said. "I'm getting love advice from Mr. Can't-Stay-In-A-Relationship-For-Longer-Than-Two-Weeks and Mr. Leave-Me-Alone-I'm-Brooding."

"I do _not_ brood!"

"I can too stay in a relationship longer than two weeks!"

Xavier just laughed at us. "Dudes, calm down. I'm just saying that both of you aren't all that qualified to be giving me advice." I rolled my eyes, while Jack scoffed.

"Come on, we don't need to be qualified to say that you need to make a move." Jack said. I saw Xavier roll his eyes.

"Why don't you take your own advice?" Xavier said, raising his eyebrows at Jack and glancing in my direction. I turned around. Was Jack's crush sitting behind me? There were a gaggle of girls at the other time, giggling like crazy. It must be one of them. I threw a glare at them before I turned back to them.

"Shut up!" Jack said, raising his fork in a menacing fashion. I laughed.

"Nice weapon choice." I said. "You know you have a knife right there, right?" Xavier groaned and slapped his forehead and Jack switched his fork for a knife.

"I swear to the gods, Xavier-" Jack said.

"Gee, thanks Hiccup." He deadpanned, looking at me before knocking the knife out of Jack's hand and having it clatter to the floor. "Seriously, Jack? You should have seen that one coming."

"Well, you didn't have to say it aloud!"

"Guys, really?" I asked. "Can you not try to kill each other for a few minutes? People are starting to stare." They both glared at each other before sitting forward and eating in silence.

We all ate until we were full, and then we waited for Lauren. Xavier and Jack tried to get a duel going in the hall, and I was too entertained to try and stop them… until she ran in with a chirpy "HI!"

We marched up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, where I ducked in and beckoned Toothless to come with.

"So, what is it?" Lauren asked for the billionth time. Jack groaned.

"Come on." I said to Lauren, hooking her arm in mine and pulling her down the corridor. "You'll see." I assured.

"Where are we going?" I heard Xavier mutter to Jack, who just laughed at him.

"I think I have an idea…" Jack said. I looked over my shoulder and flashed Jack a crooked smile, which he returned with a perfect one of his own. I kept walking down the corridor until I found the familiar blank expanse of wall.

"Um…" Xavier asked, completely confused. Right, I haven't shown him the Room of Requirement yet.

_'I need a place that's big enough for Toothless to change.'_ I thought quickly three times. A plain brown door appeared where the blank wall used to be, and Xavier started yelling.

"What the heck is going on?!" He yelled, pointing at the door. "Where did that come from?" Jack slapped the back of his head and turned him around to face him.

"You're a wizard, right?" Jack asked. "There something called magic, okay?" Xavier sneered at him.

"Ass." He muttered.

"Come on, guys." I said. "Really?" Jack just smiled at me and Xavier looked at the door warily.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" Lauren said, walking up to Xavier, grabbing his hand, and dragging him towards the door. "Come on." She said, pulling the door open and walking inside. I gave Jack a look, and we both had the same smirk on our face. Toothless rolled his eyes and walked inside the Room. Jack and I followed him.

"Here we are!" I said. "Welcome to the Room of Requirement, X." He just rolled his eyes at me.

"How long have you known about this place?" He asked me.

"A while, now." I answered, "I just didn't have a reason to use it until now." Well, hey, at least it was the truth.

"So, Hiccup." Lauren said. "Why did you drag me all the way over here?" Toothless butted his head against her shins, and she stooped down to pet him.

"Because if he showed you anywhere else, he could possibly be expelled." Jack answered easily. Lauren opened her mouth to shoot back a reply, but then she closed it again and just looked confused. "Trust me on this one." Jack said, holding up his hands.

"Alright, might as well get this over with…" I muttered. "Toothless, come here, bud." He abandoned Lauren, who stood up, and walked over to me. I fished my wand out from my back pocket.

"You… might need to stand back…" Xavier said, taking Lauren's arm and talking a couple steps back, dragging her with him. Jack did the same, smiling widely and looking expectantly at Lauren's expression.

I petted Toothless on the head once, before taking a step back and muttering the incantation. Almost immediately, the cat turned into a Night Fury, his tail elongating and his wings erupting from his side. Toothless looked down at me and cooed, before Lauren screamed.

"Oh my…" Lauren said. "Oh my God! He's a DRAGON?!" She yelled, looking at the Night Fury with wide eyes.

"Don't freak out!" Xavier said, touching her shoulder. She just brushed him off as she walked up to me.

"Hiccup! You could be thrown into Azkaban for this!" She said, taking my shoulders and shaking me. Jack rushed over and pried her off of me, though it wasn't really necessary. We pulled her a couple steps away from me and Toothless, who looked at her with concern.

"Technically, they can't throw a minor in Azkaban." Jack said. "So you need to calm down."

"I won't calm down! You don't tell a girl to calm down!" Lauren said, shaking a finger at him. "Hiccup, this is illegal! You can't keep dragons! He shouldn't even be here!"

"I know, I know, I've heard this tiny lecture before." I said, glancing at Xavier. He put his hands up in his defense. "But the point is: he wouldn't survive without me. He lost half of his tail." To prove my point, Toothless moved his tail so that Lauren could see the fin missing. "And he's still the same old Toothless. Just… as a dragon." Toothless slinked towards her, and sat down on his back legs, and he pulled his lips back in a gummy smile. Lauren laughed.

"Hey…" Lauren said, putting her hand out. Toothless met her palm, putting his nose into her hand. He purred loudly. "I guess he is the same…" She said as she started scratching his scales.

"So… you're not going to turn me over to the dementors, are you?" I asked sarcastically. Lauren just gave me a glare and Jack laughed.

"Well, of course I'm not." Lauren said.

"Great! Now we're all on the same page!" Xavier said. "Well, somewhat…"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and staring at him.

"Nothing. Just saying." Xavier said.

"He really is just a huge teddy bear isn't he?" Lauren said, and I nearly snorted because I thought she was talking about Xavier. But she was looking at Toothless. She was still scratching him, and he hand was moving towards a certain spot under his chin…

"No!" I yelled, but it was too late. She already scratched at the spot, and Toothless' eyes went wide before he fell to the ground with a loud _thump!_

"I killed him?!" Lauren yelled, retracting in horror.

"No, no, no." I said, laughing. "You didn't kill him. He just passed out."

"That makes me feel better." Lauren said, rolling her eyes. "How do you wake him up?"

"You don't." Jack said. "You leave him here until he wakes up from his pleasure-coma or whatever the heck you want to call it." I snorted at his wording and bit on my knuckle to keep from laughing too loudly. "What's so funny?" Jack asked.

"Nothing… nothing…" I said. I checked the time. Three minutes until curfew. "Crud, guys, we've got to go."

"What about Toothless?" Xavier said, looking at the dragon.

"I'll come back in the morning and see if he's awake. We need to get going before we get caught." I said. We walked out the door, and Lauren looked around.

"I'll walk you to your Common Room." Xavier offered.

"Such a gentleman…" Lauren said, laughing. She gave me and Jack a hug. "Night guys!" She whispered, before walking away with Xavier. I saw him place an arm on her shoulders.

"Slick, right?" Jack asked, laughing. I shook my head.

"He's an idiot." I mumbled.

"You know, I was surprised." He said. I looked at him. "I thought she would take it a lot harder than she did. I guess it was a good thing that she didn't but I was really expecting a screaming match, or at least a huge lecture about the rules and regulations of Hogwarts…"

"Oh, come on. She's a Hufflepuff, not a Ravenclaw. There's no way she would remember all the rules and regulations." I remarked.

"You're a Gryffindor and you memorized them before you even stepped on the train." Jack said, nudging my shoulder.

"You have no proof!" I yelled.

"Shut up! Can't you see that some people are trying to sleep here?!" A guy in a portrait yelled at me. I gave Jack one look and we busted up laughing.

We barely made it to the common room before we fell onto the couch and continued to die of laughter. I couldn't even look at him, because just one glance at his red face with tears of joy leaking from the corners of his crinkled eyes and his wide smile were too much to bear it just made me laugh harder.

"Hic... Hiccup…" Jack tried saying something, but he could only get out my name before laughing again.

When we finally calmed down, holy crap, the position we were in was totally weird. We were sitting on the couch, but we were slouching so much that we were basically leaning on each other for support. My head was on his shoulder and his head was resting on mine. We were still chuckling a bit, but I guess Jack was hyperaware of how we were sitting two, because he tensed up and lifted his head off mine.

"Wait..." He breathed. "What… What were we laughing about?"

"I… I think it was that portrait guy…?" I said, chuckling and looking at the high ceiling. "I don't think it was really all that funny…" I said. It was a stupid reason to laugh, but it felt good.

"Yeah, but come on, that was fun." Jack said, nudging my shoulder with his.

"It was." I said.

"Hey Freckles…?" Jack asked. I didn't even answer him, but I looked at him instead. "Um…" He said.

"Hey guys!" Xavier said, slipping thought the portrait hole.

"Hey, Mr. Casanova!" Jack said, standing up and slugging his shoulder. Hard, too. Xavier stumbled back a step or two. "Tell us: did you get a kiss goodnight?" He asked, fluttering his eyelashes.

"No!" Xavier answered all too quickly.

"Aw, yes you did!" Jack said.

"I didn't!" Xavier said. I rolled my eyes and walked over to them.

"Will you guys shut up?" I said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Seriously, do you want to wake up the whole Tower?"

"Maybe." Jack said, shrugging.

"Whatever." Xavier said. "I'm telling the truth. There was no… kissing involved in any of this."

"Mmhmm…" Jack said skeptically. Xavier scoffed and hopped up the stairs and walked down the hall to our room.

"You were saying something?" I said, my hand falling off his shoulder and returned back to my side. Jack's eyes widened.

"What?" He said. "Ha, no, I wasn't… I wasn't saying anything." I crossed my arms over my chest. "It's getting late, we should really be getting to sleep."

"Since when do you care about sleep?" I asked.

"Are you kidding me? _I_ don't care about it!" Jack said, placing a hand on his chest. "I'm worried about you! Look how small you are! You need sleep if you want to grow!" He pinched my arm for good measure, shaking it around lightly.

"You're acting weird." I pointed out. What was this about? Since when did he actually care about my size? All he's done about it is make off-hand jokes about it when we were goofing off before. Why is it so important now?

"Weird?" Jack asked. "Everyone's a bit weird, Freckles. And you need to sleep."

"Me?" I asked. "You look like you're about to fall over!" I said, pointing at him. "And besides, you may be taller, but you aren't any better than I am." I said, poking his chest and clearly feeling one of his ribs.

"Fuck… that hurt." Jack said, rubbing the spot.

"Wouldn't hurt if you got some meat on you." I said sharply.

"Are we really fighting about weight right now?" Jack asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Wow, you just noticed?" I asked him. "You're the one that brought it up in the first place." He slapped a hand onto my mouth and held me there.

"Shh! You don't want to wake up the whole Tower, now do you?" Jack said, mimicking me from earlier. I licked his hand. "WAH!" He said, moving away. "What the hell?!"

"Well, don't put your hand on my mouth!" I said, laughing. Jack pouted. "Come on, Mr. Go-To-Sleep." I said, reaching up and grabbing his collar before going up the stairs.

"Again with the collar thing!" Jack said loudly.

"_SHUT UP!_" Someone yelled angrily. "_God! Just go fucking make out already!_"

I let go of him right after, and I barely even glanced at him as we changed into our pajamas and got into bed.

* * *

***Silent Movie and**

****Young Frankenstein are the best movies I will probably ever see. If you feel like it, go watch them, or find them or something, because you with laugh until you cry.**

**This chapter was... a mess. But! I liked writing it, it was fun :D **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! Love you!**

**-HB**


	16. Chapter 15: PREPARE THE MISTLETOE!

**I'm lazy, and swamped with homework and I have a slight headache, so this chapter will go unedited for now. Please put up with my terrible spelling and/or grammar.**

**But this chapter is great, so I hope you enjoy anyways!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except Xavier and Lauren... and this one thing, but you'll see later...**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: Prepare The Mistletoe

**Jack's POV**

"Well, you're in a cheery mood." Hiccup said as Lauren walked in, practically bouncing on her heels as she sat down next to Xavier.

"Aw, shush, Frecks." I said, pushing is head slightly and almost making him fall onto his plate of syrup with a side of pancakes (he nearly drowns those things with syrup!). "You're just upset that you can't be that peppy in the morning."

"Who said I was peppy?" Hiccup asked, shoving my shoulder.

"I'm not peppy." Lauren said, making a face at us as she picked up a muffin and started picking at it. "Is it a crime to be coincidentally happy in the morning?"

"Depends." Xavier said, looking at her. "What's the coincidence?" Lauren grinned.

"My mom finally sent me the package I was waiting for!" She said. "And just in time for the holidays, too!"

"What is it?" Hiccup asked.

"Just some mistletoe." Lauren said, shrugging. "I asked North about it, and he said it was okay as long as I could get them myself. So I asked my mom. She found some and sent them over. I just gave them to North right now. He said he would hang them around the castle soon!" Xavier just laughed, and I reddened.

"So, you're saying that you're making everyone kiss in the halls?" I said, looking at her and pointing my fork at her.

"Oh come on." Lauren said. "Don't be like that. People will figure out that where they are and avoid the places anyways. Besides, it's not like you're forced to kiss someone, you know?"

"True." Hiccup said.

Xavier and Lauren grinned at each other. Something was up, but I wouldn't let it get to me. Hopefully they'll get stuck under the mistletoe so I don't have to hear Xavier pining over her anymore.

Class was boring, and I was glad it was Friday. Well, not really. I still had a ton of homework to do, thanks to Pitch and Bunny, who both decided to assign foot-long essays due on the same day. I sighed as I hiked my bag onto my shoulder and walked out.

"I'll see you guys later." Xavier said, clapping our shoulders before running off.

"Have fun with Lauren!" Hiccup called.

"Tell her we said hi!" I said after, and we both laughed. "Man, they sure are dense."

"You're telling me." Hiccup said. I threw an arm over his shoulders, and he ducked out from under it. "Let me guess: you want help with your essays." He said, pretending to think about it.

"How did you figure that one?" I asked.

"You always seem to put your arm around me when you want something." Hiccup said, smirking.

"Ack, sir, you wound me!" I said, clutching at my heart. "That's rude! How dare you think this is anything less than a friendly gesture!" Hiccup just looked at me. "Okay, fine, maybe I do want your help." I confessed, hanging my head melodramatically.

"I knew it." Hiccup said with a grin. "But fine, come on."

We walked into our room, and Toothless putted his head against Hiccup and weaved around his ankles. He was looking directly at me.

"**Have you told him?**" Toothless asked me.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"**I was only asking a question.**" Toothless replied innocently. "**And I think I deserve an answer.**"

"No." I said, blandly, before flopping onto my bed. "So, what do you want to help me with first? Potions or Defense?"

Hiccup sat down by my feet. "Well, what do you want to write first?"

"Potions. Let's get this shit over with. At least I somewhat know what I'm talking about for Defense." I muttered, pulling out a scroll of parchment, a quill, and a pot of ink.

"Potions is easy." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you sure you're not supposed to be a Ravenclaw?" I asked him.

"Shut up." He said, nudging my foot. "Anyways… Okay. 'What are the properties of Moonstone Powder, and what effect does it have when combined with Flobberworm Mucus?' Seems easy enough." I could practically hear him shrugging. I rolled my eyes at him.

"So what exactly are the properties of Moonstone Powder and what happens when it mixes with Flobberworm Mucus?" I asked him. Hiccup sighed.

"You know, there's this thing called a book… It's really useful if you want information. Maybe you should pick one up and read it." Hiccup said sarcastically. I sat up and turned towards him.

"But you're like a talking book, so all I have to do is ask you questions and you'll answer them." I said with a smirk.

"For your information, I am a talking _fishbone_, not a book." Hiccup said.

"See! Information!" I said, throwing my hands out towards him. He knocked them away.

"Do your essay…" He muttered as he started writing his essay with his weird-looking quill.

"I thought you said you would help me?!" I said.

"I said 'help,' not 'do the essay for you.'" Hiccup said, not eve looking up.

"But Hiiiiiccccuuuuuuuppppp….." I whined.

"But nothing." Hiccup said.

"What do you have to be so mean to me?"

"Because I can."

"I hate you."

"You know you love me."

Silence.

"Fine, I'll do the stupid essay…" I mumbled, pulling my scroll of parchment and a book into my lap and started on the essay. I hoped he didn't see the bright red blush that covered my face.

* * *

**Xavier's POV**

"So… how is forcing people to kiss because a weird tradition help us with our mission?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest and looking at her.

"Well, no one has to kiss…" Lauren said. "Except them, of course."

"What do you mean?" I asked her. I was almost scared to know the answer.

"Well, the mistletoe are just that, mistletoe, right?" She asked me. I nodded. "But, what if they weren't?"

"I'm not following you."

"You don't have to kiss under the mistletoe, but since peer pressure and the holiday atmosphere and blah blah blah… people end up kissing." Lauren said. "But we don't have all that, especially if they're alone. So, I charmed these mistletoe to detect whenever they are under them, so that when they do, invisible walls spring up around them and slowly shrink, forcing them together and therefore making them kiss."**************

I just stared at her.

"THAT'S FREAKING BRILLIANT!" I yelled, shaking her shoulder before hugging her. "Goddammit, you're so evil!"

"I know." She said. "I'm evil and I can't breathe."

"Sorry." I said, letting her go. "But this is brilliant! How'd you think of it?"

"Read it in a book once." Lauren said, shrugging.

"So, I guess it's a good thing that he holidays are coming up, right?" I asked her. "Wait, what if North checks them for any spells?"

"Oh, please." Lauren said, waving me off. "North is a total holiday freak. He wouldn't dare think about checking mistletoe. But I already thought of that. The spell I used is Untraceable." I blinked at her.

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?" I asked her. She just nodded. "Oh my god, you're freaking fantastic…" I said, not really knowing I said it aloud. Lauren blushed.

"Thanks, you're pretty fantastic too." She said, shoving my shoulder lightly. "So, now all we have to do is wait. Because you know how they are, always walking off alone…"

"And then they'll tell one of us, finally get together and, wah la!" I said, throwing my hands up. "It'll be perfect!" Lauren laughed.

"So what are you doing for the holiday?" She asked.

"Going home. You?" I asked.

"Same." Lauren replied. "Damn, that sucks. That was we could have watched their faces when it happened…"

"Hopefully it'll happen before we have to leave." I said.

"True." Lauren said. "But… I guess it all just comes down to fate, now." She nudged my shoulder.

"Or we could shove them under it." I said, shrugging. I didn't even need to look at her to know that she was rolling her eyes at me.

"But then we would be stuck under it, too." She said, laughing lightly.

"Surprisingly, I don't think that would be all too bad." I said, the words slipping out of my mouth before I could stop them. Fuckfuckfuckfuck shit fuckng shit on a brick baking in the boiling hot sun holy hell did I seriously just say that?!

"Um…." She said uncertainly.

"Oh, well, would you look at the time, I really should be going to see if those two idiots didn't kill each other yet. Okay see you later bye." I said, not even thinking about what I said before basically running away from her.

"Okay… bye then…" She said weakly, sounding dazed and a little confused.

Someone throw something at me, I've gone insane!

"Hey, Xavier, are you okay?"

"What wrong?"

What's wrong? What's freaking wrong? I just freaking told her that I wouldn't mind kissing her! Wait, that isn't that bad… FUCK, YES IT IS! I'M SCREWED.

In a flash, I was slamming the door to my room, leaning against it and pulled my hair.

"Where's the fire?" Hiccup said, looking around. Jack laughed.

"Shut the hell up!" I yelled, not really meaning it, but I really didn't want to hear them tease me right now. "Just… shut up…. For two seconds…" I said, walking towards my bed. "Dammit, sorry, I didn't mean to…" I added, apologizing to them before falling onto my bed and screaming into my pillow.

"Um… did something… happen?" Jack asked. I heard some bed springs squeak and I tried to disappear into my mattress. They were walking towards me. _Goddammit, get away!_

"Well duh." Hiccup said, and I heard a faint smack, telling me he hit Jack's arm. My mattress sunk on either side of my legs and I knew they were sitting there watching me. _Get away, get away, get away_…. "Are you going to tell us, or are you going to freak out some more while you try to suffocate yourself?"

Why did they know me so well? Geez… I took my head out from my pillow, and blinked for a moment to make sure I wasn't crying. What? No, pssssh! I'm Xavier! I don't cry for anything! I turned around and crossed my legs, staring at the two obliviously stupid should-be lovers that were staring back at me.

"Well, hello!" Jack chirped, smiling. Hiccup took one glance at him and rolled his eyes. Toothless hopped into my lap and made me pet him, trying to make me feel better. Sorry, bud, but it's not helping. "So, tell us. What makes Xavier upset?" Jack said, putting his elbows on his knees and resting his chin on his hands.

"A lot of things." I said. "Do you want the list?"

"We know the list by heart and use them against you every day." Hiccup said dryly. "Now, are you going to tell us what you're freaking out about or not?"

"It's…. it's nothing." I said.

"You hesitated!" Jack said, pointing. "It's not nothing if you hesitated!"

"It's completely normal to hesitate!" I argued back. "And besides, I was just thinking about what I was going to say, I did _not_ hesitate!"

"You are avoiding my question." Hiccup said. "That means you don't want to answer it, and you only refuse questions when you're embarrassed, or scared, or really angry."

I groaned. Why did I spend five years with these people? They know me all too well! I need to get away from them, make new friends, stop telling those two things… Dammit, I was getting side-tracked. I sighed.

"We're waiting, you know." Jack said. I glared, but he didn't seem fazed by it. "But take your time. We don't want your brain short-circuiting." I closed my eyes and counted backwards from ten.

"Uh… I might have told Lauren that I didn't mind it if we accidentally got stuck under some mistletoe." I said finally. The two idiots gave each other secret, sly grins that I wanted in on. Why were they looking at each other like that? It's getting annoying!

"That's it?" Jack asked. Hiccup socked him in the arm and gave him a 'what-the-heck' look. Jack just shrugged.

"What was her reaction?" Hiccup said rationally.

"I don't really know, I sort of ran away right when I said it…" I said. Jack groaned, and looking to the sky for strength while Hiccup just forcefully smacked his hand onto his forehead. "That… wasn't the best idea… was it?"

"NO!" Jack and Hiccup said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You don't just run away!" Jack said, leaning over and shoving his hand in my face, rubbing it around until Hiccup lunged at his arm and made him take away his hand away. "You should have at least asked her out or something!"

"Like you're one to talk anyways!" I yelled back at him. "Why don't you take your own advice and-" Toothless hopped up on his hind legs and put his hands on my chest. I looked down at him. Toothless placed a paw lightly onto my mouth, his acid-green eyes wide and his pupils huge. It was like he was begging me to stop talking. I nodded.

"Not cool, man." Jack said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well?" I asked him.

"You really shouldn't have done that." Hiccup said, shaking his head. "Do you know how amazingly stupid that is?"

"Why do you think I was freaking out?" I asked, looking straight at him and giving him a 'duh!' look. "Fuck… why did I even say that?" I asked myself, shifting so that I pulled my knees as close as I could to my chest (it wasn't that close, not everyone could be as flexible as Hiccup, okay?) I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled at it.

"Well, torturing yourself over it isn't going to make it better." Jack said, rolling his eyes. "If you keep on thinking about it, you're going to get nowhere." The sincerity of his voice made me actually think about what he just said. Wait…

"How do you know that?" I asked him. Blood rushed to his face almost instantly and I laughed. "Never mind, I'll ask you later."

"It's true, though." Hiccup said. "Just forget about it… but apologize to her tomorrow, because that's just a little messed up."

"A little?" I asked, scoffing. "That was, like, the number one royal screw-up in the century."

"Congrats." Jack said, moving away. "You're the official asshole of Hogwarts. Now if you'd excuse me, I have an essay to write." He flopped back onto his bed and pulled his essay onto his lap, writing away.

"Is he serious right now?" I asked Hiccup, pointing at him. He just laughed. "What?"

"I literally told him exactly what to write two seconds before you walked in." Hiccup said, shaking his head and laughing. "He probably just wants to get it done before he forgot it."

"Shut up!" Jack whined. "Just because you're some kind of walking dictionary doesn't mean that we all are!"

"We talked about this!" Hiccup said, turning around to look at Jack as he threw his hands out animatedly. "I'm a _talking fishbone_, not a book!"

"Yeah, yeah, fishbone…" Jack said, trailing off and scratching away at his parchment.

"Okay, fishbone." I said, smiling at him. "Did you finish the essays?" He just nodded.

"Did _you_ finish the essays?" Hiccup said, poking my knee.

"Well, of course I did!" I said.

"Oh yeah?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow. "When did you finish them?"

"Would you like to proofread them, Professor?" I asked sweetly, reaching over the edge of my bed and hauling my bag onto my bed. I dug around and pulled out two scrolls and handed it to him. Hiccup blinked as he took them and glanced at them.

"You spelled your name wrong." He said blandly, looking up at me with the deadest expression I've seen on his face in the duration of five years.

"What?!" I exclaimed, snatching the essay and looking at the heading.

'Xavier Bloodstone'

"Hiccup!" I said, rolling up the scroll tightly and whacking him on the head repeatedly while he just covered himself with his arms and laughed. "You're such a little asshole!" I said, hitting him again.

"You're the one that believed me!" Hiccup gasped out, laughing too hard to really say anything more.

"You conniving little-!" I said, whacking him one last time before I realized that I was ruining the essay so I shoved it back into my backpack.

"Done whacking me half to death?" Hiccup asked. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah, that's a bit rude." Jack remarked. "Who beats a fish?"

"Thank you!" Hiccup said. "You finally got it right!"

"I'll just call you a book again…" Jack threatened.

"Do your homework!" Hiccup said, pointing at him. I pushed him off my bed. "Ow!"

"Stop abusing the encyclopedia!" Jack yelled.

"Oh, you would get defensive." I said with a smirk, but I was drowned out by Hiccup's screaming.

"I'M A FISHBONE!"

I flopped back onto my bed. _Lauren, this plan better work because these two need to stop being dorks and get this over with_.

The next morning, I woke up earlier than the two dorks and shrugged on my robes as quietly as I could. Toothless looked at me, as if he was asking what I was doing. I put a finger to my mouth and slipped out the door. There were the occasional early risers in the common room, and I just waved at them when they greeted me. I opened the portrait hole and walked out the Fat Lady greeting me with a bad-tuned song of her own invention. I rolled my eyes, thanked her, and took the stairs as fast as I could.

I made it to the Great Hall, and took a deep breath. I didn't know what I was going to say to her yet, but I would make it count. Or could I just pretend like nothing ever happened? No, that's screwed up. Be a man, X… With that thought, I walked through the huge double doors.

As expected, Lauren was already sitting at one of the long tables, looking into a goblet and taking a sip out of it. I walked over, and sat across from her.

"Morning…" I said, my voice cracking. Shit! She looked up at me, and offered me a weak smile.

"Good morning." She said.

"Look," I said, sighing. "I'm… sorry about yesterday. I would be lying if I said that I didn't mean it, but I am sorry about running away. I just didn't know how you would take it, and-"

"Xavier, you're rambling." Lauren said, reaching over and placing her hand on mine. I looked up at her. "And it's fine. I understand." She smiled at me, and I had to smile back.

"Okay." I heard myself saying. What a stupid response….

"So…" She said. "You wouldn't mind…?" She asked and trailed off with a smirk. I groaned.

"Don't make me think about it." I said. "That was probably the stupidest thing I've said in all my life."

"But you're honest." Lauren pointed out. "That counts for something. And it was pretty quick-witted, so that scored you about thirty extra bonus points." She laughed.

"Points? For what?" I asked. What was she talking about?

"Nothing." She said, rolling her eyes at me.

"Well, good morning you two!" Jack called, smiling as they walked inside the Great Hall.

"Did you work it out?" Hiccup called. I smacked my head onto the table.

"You told them?" Lauren asked, her voice teetering on the verge of shock or laughter. I couldn't tell which one.

"They forced me to tell…" I said, sitting back up and glaring at them as they sat down. Hiccup sat next to me and nudged my shoulder.

"Well, did you?" He asked.

"Yes, thanks for asking." I said, smiling brightly, even though it was fake. Hiccup rolled his eyes at me and poked my cheek.

"Don't be sarcastic with me, One-With-Many-Faces, that's my job." He said, crossing his arms over his chest and lifting his chin in the air.

"Would you stop calling me that?!" I asked, practically yelling at him. Lauren laughed, and Jack rolled his eyes.

"You know he's just looking for a reaction, right?" Jack said, piling on some of his stupid waffles onto his plate. "If you keep yelling at him, he's going to keep on doing it."

"Don't rationalize my behavior, Mr. Frost." Hiccup said, grabbing the syrup and spilling it over the waffles on Jack's plate. "Because that's not how it works. I do things because I want to!" He took his fork and cut off a corner of the waffle, sticking it into his mouth with a satisfied look on his face.

"HEY!" Jack said, poking his hand with his fork. Hiccup laughed.

"Take your own advice, Frost." I said, shaking my head at him.

Lauren was looking at me, and our eyes met. We were thinking that same exact thing: "_This mistletoe thing better work miracles, because these two are never going to catch on_." Or was that just me?

* * *

**I love writing as Xavier. Especially when he freaks out :P**

************THIS IS NOT MY IDEA! I GOT THIS CONCEPT FROM READING THIS: s/9981644/1/The-Punching-Mistletoe**

**if you like drarry, please read it, its super awesome. this concept also pops up next chapter.**

**Oh, and my headcannon is that since Hiccup's from Berk (where everything is tough and tasteless), he likes sweets, and that's why he drowns everything in syrup XD it makes sense to me, right? yeah, just wanted to clear that up.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading! Reviews are lovely, so please leave one! Thanks! I love you all!**

**-HB**


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